Soulseeker
by 555Diana555
Summary: A terrible fight against a horrible new enemy tests all the X-Men and Rogue's soul is the ultimate prize. Can she fight through the darkness? Can Remy, Kitty and Kurt help her? Kurtty, Romy and a spattering of other couples
1. We don't have electricity because

I'm not even sure why I'm putting this in here, no one ever reads these things but anyway :) Well this is my first Fanfiction, review if you like. Flames are fine, but try and tell me what you would like to be improved. Thanks a bunch for reading! Oh crap almost forgot the disclaimer: I own nothing you see in this story!

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Kitty felt herself falling, through and through everything. First through the roof where she had been doing repairs with Miss Monroe, and now through Bobby's bedroom, and a startled Bobby himself actually and now through the couch where Logan sat drinking a beer. Finally she reached her destination and slowed herself so she could land gracefully on the basement floor. Once her feet hit the ground, she wasted no time in sprinting over to the electrical power system. Knowing she didn't have time to punch in her security numbers, she quickly phased her hands through it and let out the breath she had been holding in when everything went black around her. She heard the collected protests and cries of the residents of the mansion above her.

Kitty turned around and began trying to feel her way back through the pitch black basement. However, after she banged her knee off of something large, cold and metallic (which Kitty almost mistook as Colossus) she decided she knew a better way.

"Screw this," she mumbled as she began phasing on air and then through the ceiling.

Her half phased upper body was greeted by Logan, who gently took her beneath the armpits and tugged her the rest of the way up.

"Half pint, you mind telling me why my baseball game got cut short?" He gestured to the now blank TV. The room was growing darker as clouds began to cover the sky, a sign that Storm had cornered Sam and Ray and was giving them a piece of her mind.

"Yea, I'd like to know why my hair straightener suddenly died, as well as all the lights," Rahne added as she and Jubilee stumbled their way into the room, her hair appearing more like her wolf fur rather then the pretty copper locks they were accustomed to seeing.

"Like I'm really sorry about that, but a little darkness is better then having Sam and Ray electrocuted," Kitty answered as more students filled the room, all complaining about the sudden lack of power.

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Jubilee asked, fiddling with the light switch next to her.

"She is talking about this," Miss Monroe came into the room, a guilty Ray and Sam in front of her.

"Could of guessed it was you two," Logan barked, rolling his eyes.

"Oh geez, what did you do now? Are we gonna have to rebuild the boat house and roof again?" Scott asked, looking alarmed at the possibility of another Cannonball and Berserker disaster.

"Hey now don't just blame us, Amara was in on the last one too!" Sam hurriedly said as Ray nodded in agreement.

"When you said we were gonna play dodgeball, I wasn't fully aware that powers would be involved to that extent," Amara spoke up from the back of the crowd.

"Well, after the roof began pelting us we all became aware of it," Rouge said, rolling her eyes.

"Okay, that doesn't explain why we're all standing around with no electricity," Jean reminded, trying to keep her voice even. She had been working extensively at her laptop on a summer college course project, which was now probably lost and gone forever. Her left eye began to twitch and everyone wisely took a step back away from her.

Ray began fidgeting from foot to foot as he tried explaining.

"Well, you see Sam and I were trying to fix the gate, and we kinda turned off the wrong power source, but we didn't quite realize it. So the wire's were alive and I was kinda using my powers to spark the system," He began.

"And Kitty and I noticed from the roof and stopped him before he could kill us all," Miss Monroe said in a smooth matter of fact voice. Her dark skin was still sun kissed from the earlier summer sun. The day had been unusually hot for the middle of May, though no one was complaining, it had been gorgeous out.

"Oh, well now this is great, it's getting dark out and we don't have lights, or TV, or video games," Bobby yelped, working himself into a panic.

"More importantly, we don't have any defenses up," Scott said.

"Now that we do have, I used the backup generator for that," Beast said walking down the halls in his usual manner, where he leaned most of his weight onto his front hands.

"However, we'll have to wait until tomorrow for the main electricity."

"Can't they just make an emergency call and get their bum's here?" Roberto demanded, clearly unhappy with the idea that he'd have to go that long without many modern day conveniences.

"We don't exactly work with a local electrician for our specific needs, we call in the big guys, they're more or less thought of as the Japanese Mafia," Logan said gruffly, finishing off his beer and grimacing at the thought of dealing with twelve mutant teenagers with no electricity.

"Oh.." Bobby chuckled a bit. "Cool."

"Nein!" Kurt's sad tragic cry filled their ears as it sounded from the kitchen. He came pouncing into the room holding a squishy looking carton of ice cream.

A collective gasp among the boys made the girls roll their eyes.

"The horror," Jamie gasped as Kurt pulled of the lid to show the slushy and mushy contents that were once formerly Moose Tracks.

"We have no oven, now! Or microwave, toaster... nothing, we've got nothing! It's over now, we're done, finished!" Sam's voice began rising in a panic.

"Oh good god, we'll... we'll starve," Ray whimpered.

"Are you telling me, that we can beat opponents and war machines and escape near death, and even though we have a mutant who can generate electricity, another who can derive power from the sun, one from magma, and two who can create plasmic blasts and we still can't make a meal?" Rahne asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Good point," Roberto said, as the boys stopped their lamentations.

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After a horribly burnt meal of burgers (or veggie burger on Kitty's part) and charred French fries, all courtesy of a combined effort from Amara and Bobby (who had tom keep putting out little fires), the young adults took their leave for their bedrooms, some of them using their powers to light the way as others went with candles or flashlights.

Kurt lay restlessly in his bed. His thoughts kept drifting to his girlfriend, and the other girl. He was supposed to love Amanda, then why did it feel as if they were using on another, Kurt using her to try to get a taste of normalcy and her using him simply because she wanted a mutant for a boyfriend.

"Verdammen," he muttered. Sure Amanda was a great girl, but it just wasn't there anymore. He saw her as a bunch of opportunities rolled up into one, an opportunity to get over the other girl, an opportunity to feel normal and accepted, and he had taken those opportunities. She was pretty and sweet, but then the attraction faded and he felt a growing discontentment. And this relationship with her had done absolutely nothing to stop his feelings for the other, just gave him a distraction at first.

Sighing, Kurt knew the only cure for this, and that was food.

Porting into the kitchen, Kurt hopped up onto the counter opposite the fridge and opened a cabinet beside him and pulled out the cookies. A loud hum was coming from the ancient and formerly broken generator which powered the fridge. Mr. McCoy and Kitty had managed to get it working with a jump start from Ray

Speaking of one such Kitten, Kurt heard a muffled thud and then sharp intake of breathe. Already he could smell Kitty and the scent of the candle she was carrying, trying, but obviously failing to light the way from her room to the kitchen.

Another thud.

"Ow, forget it, I'm staying phased," Kitty mumbled as Kurt choked back a laugh. He'd seen Kitty dance in the most graceful manner, had seen her and Miss Monroe doing yoga together and almost challenging Kurt's own infamous flexibility, he'd seen her pounce and move with the agility of her namesake, but never had he'd seen her be able to walk in the dark.

Kurt's own yellow eyes could see incredibly well in the dark, as all his senses were very well tuned. They weren't as good as Logan's or Rahne's but still sensitive enough that he could smell very acutely and hear whispered conversations, making him the haven of all gossip and secrets of the mansion (which he often used to his advantage by blackmailing one of the girls into cooking for him).

Kurt pounced up onto the hanging light fixture above the table, having an inkling of what Kitty was about to do but wanting to catch her in the act, like he had many times before.

Kitty came into the kitchen, and from the soundless way she made her approach, Kurt assumed she was walking on air, a relatively new thing she had learned to do with her phasing power. Her face was illuminated by the flickering flow of the candle and her normally blue eyes looked sleepy and grey, Kurt could also see that she was wearing the shirt that she had claimed she won off of Kurt's back (literally, she'd phased it right off of him) after a tickle fight. Her hair was down from the normal pony tail and the thick shiny brown locks reflected the light of her candle. Opening the fridge and grabbing a carton of milk and celery sticks she made her way back to the table. Kurt's eyes narrowed, he knew it all along.

Kurt waited for her to bring the milk carton to her full lips when he nimbly dropped down onto the table and snatched the milk away. Her surprised eep and widened eyes never betrayed the fact that she had known he was there all along.

Kitty smiled slightly as she gazed into the yellow eyes in front of her. Kurt nearly blended in with the shadows, and even her candle didn't do much other then outline Kurt's crouching silhouette on the table, his tail whipping around triumphantly, though Kitty could still see him perfectly, every detail of his face ad every contour of his body.

"I knew it! You're still doing this!"

"Oh fine," Kitty huffed, crossing her arms. "You caught me, I still don't see what the big deal is!"

Kurt groaned. "Katzchen, it's like making out with everyone in the institute."

"Sorry Fuzzy, but the kitty likes her milk," Kitty answered with a shrug, her eyes flickering down from his eyes to watch the white gleam of his teeth and fangs as he chuckled.

Kurt had changed in the last few months. He was taller now, more muscular, though still lean and agile. His fur made him seem deceptively soft, but Kitty knew that beneath the fur was threatening muscle. He'd also changed his posture, standing straighter and taller was becoming second nature to him, though he still preferred to drop to all fours and pounce around. He'd also cut his hair, the front was still rather long but the back was short and dark blue wisps. Kitty found his most drastic change was that his eyes were now an unbroken gold that seemingly glowed with whatever emotion he was feeling.

Kurt broke into a smile before hopping off the table and grabbing a glass from the cabinet and returning again. He honestly didn't mind that she drank from the carton, it was fun teasing her though. Pouncing back he replaced his pose on the table and poured her a glass.

She remained relatively quiet through this and took the glass with no qualm. Her gaze remained on him as she raised her glass to her lips and closed her eyes and took a sip. Kurt watched her, his tail whipping around. After setting down the glass she licked her lips and offered him a small smile.

"See Leibling, not so hard is it?" Kurt teased as he watched her stretch her arms over her head, tiny sighs and moans escaping her mouth at the delightful pull of her shoulders and back. Her chestnut hair, which had grown down to her elbows was rumpled and messy, suggesting that she had been tossing and turning in attempt to fall asleep.

"No, but I just like to make it hard," Kitty answered with a wink.

Kurt's eyes widened, never did Kitty make a dirty joke. She was spending too much time around Alvers.

Kitty giggled and began to munch one a celery stick.

"Is there something meine kleine Katzchen is not telling me?" Kurt inquired, trying to keep a joking voice, though the rage at the thought of anyone corrupting Kitty was hard to cover.

Kitty gagged on her celery stick.

"Do you see any dead bodies around that are the doings of Miss Monroe or Mr. Logan?" Kitty asked, referring to the two adults who practically viewed Kitty as their daughter.

Kurt chuckled and agreed.

"Vas are you doing up?" Kurt asked suspiciously. He knew of Kitty's sleeping trouble lately, though whenever he asked her about it she would claim to feel fine.

Kitty sighed, her chin resting on her hand.

"I couldn't sleep again, I don't know what my deal is Fuzzy. And when I do sleep, it's all nightmares. The most sleep I've gotten this week has been a few snippets here and there."

Kurt knew how dangerous it was for Kitty to have nightmares. It was fairly dangerous for anyone in the institute to have nightmares, as many would lose control of their powers. Jubilee for example would light her room up in a show of fireworks if a clown, even a friendly clown, appeared in her dreams. Jean's whole room would shake and quiver during her fright nights and Kurt had one time been woken up by the sound of half a dozen Jamie's crying out that Kitty's muffins were trying to get him. Kurt himself would often wake up and realize that he ported to wherever his dream had taken place at. So far he'd been woken up on the kitchen table, a group of grumbling students complaining about fur in their breakfast, he'd woken up in the library, and one more then one occasion, in Kitty and Rouge's room, which he would cover up by saying he had had a dream where he and Rouge were happy siblings in the form of Hansel and Gretle. That excuse had earned him a lot of glares and pillow throwing from Rouge.

The professor had been a little concerned when he had heard that Kurt was porting in his sleep. Kurt couldn't port to where he couldn't see, for risk of getting trapped in a wall, though he had argued that he could see places perfectly well in his dreams. Kitty however, was source for much concern. While having a nightmare she would often phase down and keep going, which posed a risk if she phased right though the ground and into the earth and suffocated before she could get out.

Often frantic mental cries from a still sleeping Jean would wake Kitty up and she would solidify before she sank further into the ground. Kurt had finally tired of worrying about a falling kitty and moved temporarily into the guest bedroom bellow her, where he still was now.

"You know Kitty, you can sleep. My bed is right below you and I always wake up when you phase through me," Kurt pointed out. He moved onto the bench next to her.

"Yea, but then I'm interrupting your sleep," She began to nibble on her lower lip.

"Do you see me sleeping now?" He inquired. When it was just the two of them together they were very different, older yet still fresh and new. Kurt would joke but with Kitty he'd let down the act and be real. Kitty would lose the ditzy, happy go lucky valley girl and would voice her concerns, her hurts without any worry of judgement. It was all part of being best friends.

"I know, I just wish I could get a handle on this. I've been here for almost two years and still I wake up sometimes and find myself swimming through dirt," Kitty huffed, her normal whine was now replaced with genuine frustration.

"Liebes, no one has control when it comes to nightmares, you're being too hard on yourself," Kurt answered, his tail wrapping itself around her waist.

"We just have enough problems then to have to worry about me," kitty sighed, rubbing her temples. She hated being a burden to everyone. Sure, she fit the role of naive little sister and thus forth everyone felt protective over her, hell even Jaime who was four years younger then her had almost gotten rid of his pet ferret after it scratched her. He only relaxed and forgave the furry thing after Kitty had repeatedly assured him that it was by accident. She felt so helpless and useless.

"Kurt can we go to the roof?" Kitty asked hopefully, knowing that this would raise her spirits.

"Yea, let me grab you a blanket," Kurt bamfed away and Kitty rose to put away the milk and then blew out the candle. Kurt returned, wrapped the blanket around her and ported away.

They reappeared on the roof, the stars almost dropping from the sky. The moon was full and the light danced off the bay.

"Beautiful," she murmured.

"Absolutely," Kurt agreed, though his eyes weren't on their surroundings.

"I've missed this Fuzzy," Kitty whispered.

"What? The roof?" Kurt asked, a little confused. "I have to admit that it was getting annoying not having a roof over the bathrooms after the guy's blew it to hell, so um I guess I missed it to. I must say, we did a fine job rebuilding it."

Kurt leaned back and stretched out as Kitty followed and laid her head on his chest, her hand absently sliding up his shirt to admire and feel his fur. Her fingers brushed against the beads of his rosary, one of Kurt's most treasured possessions.

Thankfully, maybe out of habit from traveling with a circus and having to keep your prized possessions close, Kurt hadn't lost that during the explosion of the mansion because he carried it with him, along with his two other dear things. Kitty knew that one of the other things was a picture of Kurt when he was a small child, curled up in his adoptive parents arms, though Kitty had no idea what the other thing was that Kurt loved dearly enough to put in the league with his rosary and parent's picture. When she asked him about it, he had simply smiled and said "Safe, that's all you need to know about my other Schatz". Damn elf could be so mysterious sometimes. Kitty thought for a moment on all that they had lost during the explosion, thanks to Mystique, Kurt's biological mother. Losing her laptop and her stuffed dragon Lockheed made her the most upset, as well as photo albums filled with perfect moments at the mansion, though it was a lot of fun going on a shopping spree financed by the Professor. Kitty sighed and tightened harder on Kurt. He was something irreplaceable.

"No Fuzzball. I meant us. We've been so busy lately and we haven't had any time together," she sighed. The sky was literally crying stars on the two of them.

"I've missed it too meine Leibe," Kurt said. He was her best friend, her support, but Kurt yearned for more then just that. A deep aching echoed against him every moment of his existence. Sometimes he could nullify the feeling with a difficult workout or sparring session, but always it would find it's way back to him, plaguing him in the most delightful, yet torturous, way.

It was wrong to want her, and how could she ever want him, he was blue. And furry. And had a tail. Did he mention he was blue? And had a tail?!

Kitty yawned and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck.

"How are you and Amanda?" Kitty asked, her breath tickling Kurt's neck. He was also quite aware of Kitty's fingers, which were drawing lazy circles across his chest, pushing the fur the wrong way.

"Ve are okay I guess," Kurt mumbled. For the last couple weeks his and Amanda's relationship was fast deteriorating, and Kurt found that he really didn't care. He didn't want to hurt her, but now it seemed as though he didn't want anything to do with her at all. He knew he'd have to end this standstill relationship of theirs so that they both could move on.

Kitty sat up and looked down at him. Slowly she removed her hand from his shirt and began tracing his face. She traced his lips, which were a dark blue color and then his high cheekbones. She made her way up to his ears.

"I know my Fuzzy Elf, and I know when he's trying to cover something up," Kitty said with an arched eyebrow.

"It's been weird, I guess," Kurt sighed, Kitty's blue eyes filled with sympathy. She knew plenty about weird relationships.

"What are you gonna do?" She asked quietly, biting her bottom lip.

Kurt closed his eyes a moment. He knew what he was going to do about Amanda, just not about what he would do with Kitty.

"I don't know yet. I know what I want to do," Kurt answered finally. "Let's not worry about that Leibling." Kurt said gently, wanting only to have this night to think and be with Kitty, not about anyone else.

Kitty nodded and resumed her position.

"I like your slippers," Kurt laughed gently, noticing the dark blue fuzzy slippers on Kitty's tiny feet. They might as well had pointy ears on them.

"What can I say, I've developed a fur fetish," Kitty giggled, poking Kurt slightly in an accusing manner.

Kurt blushed slightly. They lay silently for a few minutes, enjoying each other. Kitty thought back to what Kurt had said about it being weird with Amanda and considered for a moment if now was the right time to ask him the question. Kitty opened her mouth, about to ask it, but her courage failed her, and she realized that right now, what she needed most was to simply lay in Kurt's arms and to know that this security would always be with her.

"Kurt, you'll never leave me right?" Kitty asked softly, breathing in the scent that was distinctly Kurt. It was musky and clean, and never did Kitty smell any of that God awful cologne on him. Scott would practically drown himself in old spice and Kitty would often have to bite back the urge to point out to him that he was neither old nor spicy and half the other guys were obsessed, and Kitty meant obsessed, with Axe or Tag. Finally, after a few weeks of the guy's practically bathing in the crap, Rahne, who had advanced senses, got very ill, threw up and suffered headaches. The girls and Logan and Kurt (who were having similar reactions as Rahne) raided the guy's rooms and flushed the stuff. After Logan's intimidating threat, most the guy's know opted for eau de natural.

Kitty sat up to glance into Kurt's golden eyes as he answered her question.

"Nie, mein Katzchen. I don't believe I ever could," Kurt answered, tightening his hold on Kitty. Kitty smiled and curled into him once more.

"Good, I'd be lost without you," Kitty murmured before drifting to sleep. Kurt soon followed suit, his dreams full of blue fuzzy slippers and falling stars.


	2. XMen meet Remy, and Jamie's ferret

Kurt woke up as the sun began rising over the bay. He turned and admired the girl that lay in his arms. Gently he pressed a kiss onto her forehead. That's when Kurt noticed he couldn't find his tail and began to worry that the thing had decided place itself in an inappropriate spot. Kurt quickly solved the mystery of the missing tail when he felt himself sinking gradually, the roof appearing to be swallowing the two teens.

"Kitty!" He warned, shaking the girl.

"Hmm..." she murmured as they sank further. Kitty woke up as she fell through the roof with Kurt in tow, quickly solidifying them both before they hit the ground.

"Schiesse," Kurt murmured as they landed roughly on the floor of Miss Monroe's attic bedroom, their legs and arms (and Kurt's tail) akimbo.

"Children?" Her accented voice called out as she walked over to them wearing her robe, her expression going from concerned to curious as she arched a white eyebrow.

"Oh my god, hide me," Kitty mumbled, plunging her head beneath the blanket.

"Nope, you're facing this one with me Liebchen," Kurt replied peeling back the blanket.

'What are you two doing?" Miss Monroe asked, crossing her arms as she stood over them.

"We were uh, checking to see how strong the repaired roof is..." Kitty stuttered slowly.

"I'm sure," Miss Monroe answered, helping the girl to her feet.

"Logan will be able to smell him on you, so I suggest you two go take a shower."

The two teens nodded and hurried out the door.

"Separately!" she shouted after them. The pair walked down the hallway, laughing at Miss Monroe's reaction.

"Kurt," Kitty gasped, clutching his arm. "Port us somewhere, now."

"Vat? Why?" Kurt asked, until he saw what was coming towards.

Logan, teeth barred, claws unsheathed chasing after a furry little rodent with boxers in his mouth.

Kurt complied with Kitty's request and the two of them were gone in a bamf.

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Scott woke up to the sound of Logan banging open his door, nearly giving his room a new skylight as his eyes instinctively wanted to fly open.

"Where is it!" The feral growl erupted from Logan.

"Wha- where's what?" Scott asked, jumping out of bed and blindly pawing at his nightstand, trying to find his visor.

Logan paced around the room, sniffing the air.

"Either he's really clean, or really fast," Logan murmured before leaving the room.

"What the hell," Scott muttered, wondering if this was at all like the false alarm last week at three twenty in the morning. Logan had wanted to see how quickly everyone could get up, get dressed, and get on the jet. Apparently two minutes and 46 seconds had been too long and Logan warned that they'd be getting more wake up calls from him. Scott was starting to worry that Logan was keeping true to his word and starting with the leader of the group.

It was still very early, but Scott figured he could get in an early morning exercise as all hope of sleep left him. Getting woken up by a pissed off Logan could keep anyone awake for days.

That's when he heard it. A low scuffling noise coming from his undergarments drawer. Scratching his head, Scott wondered if somehow he'd left his phone on vibrate and put it in there to hide from Bobby and Sam.

Pulling the drawer open, he was greeted by the household fuzzy guy. No, not Kurt. But Jamie's ferret. And the thing was chewing on his boxers.

"GAHH!" Scott fired and shot at it, which in turn just made his whole dresser blow to pieces as the ferret scurried under the bed, taking the stolen boxers with him. All hell broke lose.

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Rahne and Roberto raised their eyes to the ceiling of the kitchen.

"I wonder if he's okay," Rahne mused aloud, a look of slight worry on her face as she raised her spoon to her mouth.

"Come on, he's our fearless leader, whatever it is, he's got it," Roberto replied, sipping his orange juice. An ominous creaking sounded from above them, and a rapidly forming crack began branching out in all directions. The pair shared one more alarmed look before the ceiling began raining Scott's room on them. Roberto yelled a slew of curses that would even make Logan blush if he had known Portuguese and pushed Rahne and himself under the table.

Coughing Scott sat up in the rubble.

"Oh. Good morning Roberto, Rahne" He greeted them in his usual monotone voice.

"Umm, hey Scott... what some cereal?" Rahne asked quietly, blankly holding up the bowl that now contained fruit loops and pieces of ceiling. The two of them resumed their seats at the table, eyeing Scott warily and wondering if the pressure of being an example and role model to 10 slightly insane and deranged teenage mutants, whose powers could destroy a city in less then five minutes, had finally gotten to him. Either that or Jean had dumped his sorry ass.

Something quick and furry caught Scott's attention.

"Roberto, hold very still," Scott commanded in a deathly quiet voice, his deadly eyes beginning to power up as he faced Roberto.

"Scott...what are you.." A blast cut Roberto off. "...doing."

"Come here you furry little devil!" Scott cried, rushing out of the room, chasing after what appeared to be a scurrying pair of boxers.

Bamph! Kurt appeared looking alarmed and wearing only his boxers and holding a towel.

"Who called me? Vat did I do now!" Kurt demanded. Turning around, he noticed the mess that was Scott's room on the kitchen floor. Choosing to ignore this he turned instead to the pair sitting at the table.

"Hey," Rahne stood up and walked over to Kurt. "You smell different."

"You can smell me over the burnt crisp that was Roberto?" Kurt asked, his brow furrowing at the sight of Roberto sitting there, mouth agape and hair singed. Kurt had a sneaking suspicion that today would be a very interesting, and slightly frightening, day.

"You smell an awful lot like someone I know," Rahne continued suspiciously.

"Elf!" Logan's growl made Kurt cringe, positive that he was a dead man, or mutant, or elf, or whatever the hell he was considered. Logan began marching over the rumble of Scott's room, trying to get close enough so he could strangle Kurt with his own tail.

"She's right, you do smell different. You smell like Half Pint." The sound of his claws unsheathing could be heard. "Now tell me, why does it smell as though a certain Kitten crawled all over you?"

Kurt sputtered for a moment before a pseudo innocent voice interrupted the would be elf lynching.

"Um, I lent him my blanket last night."

Kurt looked over at the door way and was greeted by her clutching the blanket from last night. Her hair was wet from the shower she had just taken and her free hand played nervously with the dripping strands. She offered an innocent smile to Logan.

Logan cast one more withering look at Kurt and rubbed his temples. Casting a glance at the mess on the kitchen floor he took a deep breath and mumbled about not being paid enough.

"Since when am I so easily sniffed out?" Kitty asked the three mutants with advanced senses.

"Hey, that works fine for me," Kurt said with a wink.

"Watch it Elf," Logan threatened as he began making coffee.

"No, it's fine guys. Don't call Mr. McCoy or anything, I'm perfectly well. Just dandy," Roberto gasped out from the table before passing out.

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Lance stood in front of a very pissed off Kitty. Gulping, he knew he had crossed the line. He wasn't about to take it back though.

"Excuse me?" Kitty's voice had quickly transcended from preppy and sweet to a menacing growl that could almost rival Wolverines. 'She's been spending way too much time with that short dude,' Lance thought bitterly.

"Repeat it Lance." She demanded through her teeth.

Lance clenched his jaw. "I said that if I ever see that fuzzy freak hug you again then I'm going to shove his tail so far up his ass that he'll choke on it."

"You have no right Lance, to ever say that. We're done, we have been for a while now. I've tried standing up for you, I've tried being your girlfriend, hell I've even tried being your friend. But from this day forth I never want to see you again, unless your Avalanche and I'm Shadowcat and that's only so I can kick your ass." Kitty turned on her heel and slammed the door in Lances face. She knew that she could have simply phased into the kitchen, but the whole production of slamming things got her frustration across rather nicely. She stood fuming on the other side of the door, before taking notice that the kitchen was now clear of any evidence that Scott's room had had a cave in that morning. She also noted that Logan was sitting at the table, paper in hand and satisfaction on his face.

"So ya finally did it Half-pint?" Logan asked as he put down his paper.

"Ugh, it's been over a long time ago, I was just too dense to know it," she sighed.

"Well, Pun'kin, your heart was in the right place and his hands better not have been in the wrong place or he's dead..." Logan said, a slight growl came to his lips.

Kitty took the seat across from him and let out a sharp laugh.

"No way, I mean yea he pressured but that's why phasing comes in handy. He once had to beg me to unphase a feather from his forehead," she said, thinking back to the way Lance's eyes had gone big and crossed as he saw the feather invading his head.

"Way to handle yourself," Logan commended, feeling that he had trained her quite well.

"Why thank you Mr. Logan," Kitty replied, getting up to wash the apple she had just took from the basket on the table.

Rouge came stomping in a moment later, a rather pleased looking Remy in tow.

"Professor!" Rouge yelled. "We have a RAT problem!" After announcing that Rouge turned on her heel and left the room.

"Chere, so moody," Remy muttered.

"Can it swamp boy," was the yelled response.

"Remy?" Kitty asked, going slightly on the defensive. She'd met the guy a couple times, and fought him a few others but all in all she had found him fairly harmless, when he wasn't throwing those damn cards, and rather nice.

"Evening Chaton, Mr. Logan," Remy nodded to them both.

"What are you doing here bub? Have a message to deliver?" Logan asked, rising from his seat.

"No Logan, rather he's decided to join our team," the Professor's voice called telepathically to them.

"That's like so unexpected," Kitty said taking a bite of her apple.

Scott entered the room and an instant scowl became present on his face.

"Non Ami, I come in peace," Remy said, his hands held out in front of him in a gesture of cordial friendliness.

Logan chuckled and leaned back, leaving the two to their devices.

"Yea right," the sound of Scott's blasts followed after and blew the back door off. However Scott was rather surprised to see a very intact, and equally confused Remy still in front of him.

"Scott, the Professor said he's joining us," Kitty said as she phased herself through Remy and picked up her apple which had been the only victim of Scott's wrath. She sighed as she tossed it into the trash. "And would you like stop destroying the kitchen," Kitty added as she gestured toward the now nonexistent kitchen ceiling and back door.

"Hey, that ferret has rabies! And Logan's underwear!" This in turn earned a scowl from Logan.

"Personal business Shades."

"Kitty, Remy is rooming with Kurt, could you show him the way?" The Professor's voice spoke to them once more, a slight chuckle seeping through.

Kitty motioned for Remy to follow her and began to leave the kitchen, though Remy was abruptly stopped by Logan.

"Watch yourself around here, we wouldn't want any accidents in the danger room," Logan said in a low growl.

"Hey, are you coming?" Kitty's half phased torso asked from the wall.

Remy nodded and picked up his bags. He followed, glancing around the mansion.

Kitty was walking up the steps, babbling on about how much Remy would love the institute and what to expect here. Remy found that if he simply nodded and smiled then Kitty would take this as an acceptable response, flash her own sweet smile and tackle another topic.

"My day to cook used to be Thursdays, but that didn't last too long. Miss Monroe told me it was because I'm vegetarian and forcing the others to go sans meat wasn't fair, but I know it's cause I'm just a really awful cook," Kitty said with a giggle.

At that moment a bamf was heard and a cloud of smoke surrounded them.

A blue furred, fanged and tailed boy appeared. He immediately put himself between Kitty and Remy, fangs barred and tail whipping furiously. Remy wasn't sure but he believed the boys name to be Kurt. Remy rolled his demon eyes, knowing that this was going to be a long day.

"Katzchen, are you all right?"

"Course I am Fuzzy, oh and by the way, say hi to your new roomie," Kitty chimed. "You like, can't go six feet without being attacked, can you Remy?" she asked.

"Vat is he doing here?" Kurt asked, relaxing his posture when he heard Kitty's light tone.

"Joining us," Scott said gruffly as he passed the three, mumbling about wild rodents and sleeping with the enemy.

"And you're my roommate?" Kurt asked, still a little uneasy.

"That I am, Petite was just showing me to the room," Remy answered, nodding to Kitty, who had stopped Scott and was asking him (or more like begging with lots of puppy eyes) if a trip was at all possible this summer.

Kurt raised his eyebrows at this. "Then let me come with you," he said, his fur bristling slightly.

"You two done with introductions?" Kitty asked as she began walking again.

Along their way many things encountered them. The scenes that greeted them reminded Remy of what it would be like if Willy Wonka met Jackass at a Blue Man Group concert.

Jubilee was chasing after Bobby and Sam, yelling something about making fireworks go off in their empty heads as Rahne pranced around in full wolf form, Roberto's favorite shirt in her mouth. Five Jamie's were running and tripping over themselves in an attempt to get away from Roberto and Ray, who were cursing about kidnapped briefs and boxers.

"I don't where know he is! He escaped from his cage!" The Jamie at the head of the pack yelled as the others agreed wholeheartedly.

"Umm...It's usually not like this.." Kitty gestured at the chaos around them, trying to be a good hostess.

"She's right, it's usually a lot worse," Kurt chuckled, dodging a fallen Jamie who has yelling at his identical companions to save themselves.

"I'm sure I'll get used to it," Remy replied, watching the two in front of him. Kurt's tail had managed to pull the hairband from Kitty's hair, so now the long chestnut hair bounced freely.

"Kurt," Kitty giggled, swatting at the tail. "So uncalled for."

"Leibling, don't I look good with my hair like this?" Kurt asked dramatically as he pulled his hair into a bun with Kitty's captured hairband.

Kitty cocked her eyebrow and shook her head, "No Fuzzy, now can I have it back?"

Kurt sighed and began trying to pull it out.

"Oh, here's your room Remy," Kitty said, leading them through a door, having enough courtesy to open it then just phase through it.

Remy was greeted by a high ceilinged room with French doors leading out to a balcony. Two beds and dresser's occupied the space and Remy set his stuff on the empty side.

Kitty sat down on Kurt's bed, smoothing out the pillow.

"I'm so jealous of you guys, that view is incredible," Kitty said, nodding to the picturesque sight from the balcony.

"It is," Remy agreed, feeling that he could get used to living here.

"Um Kitty?" Kurt's guilty voice pulled them both back from the view. "This verdammt's thing is stuck."

"Kurt," Kitty sighed rolling her eyes, gesturing him to sit on the floor in front of her. She began trying to extract her hairtye from Kurt's dark blue hair.

"Hold still," she muttered, pulling slightly on his hair.

"Ow, that hurts," Kurt mumbled. A few minutes passed silently, save for an occasional yelp from Kurt, while Remy pulled out a few things from his bag.

Kitty throw her hands up in frustration.

"Only one solution, I have to phase it out, either that or cut your hair."

"Ach, stupid hair things. See Kitty, this is why you should just keep your hair down," Kurt said hopefully. Remy sat down on his own bed and chuckled at the two.

"Keep still Fuzzbutt or I'm gonna end up phasing out half your hair!" Kitty warned. With one final tug she emerged triumphantly, holding her hairtye.

"Danke Katzchen," Kurt said, rubbing his scalp.

"Sure thing, I'll let you get situated," She said to Remy. "Dinner's in like thirty minutes."

"Thank you Chaton," Remy nodded to her as she phased through the floor.

"So does she do that often?" Remy asked as he looked at the spot she sank into.

"Ja, doors and walls don't really exist to her. I believe it's safe to say that she's seen everyone who lives here in their underwear at least once, and that's including Logan," Kurt laughed as he hopped up onto his bed.

"And Petite lived to tell the tale, I'm impressed," Remy chuckled.

"Ja, believe it or not but Logan has a soft spot for all the kids here, particularly Kitty," Kurt said.

"I've noticed he's not the only one,' Remy muttered, but knew he was heard.

"I guess you're right, everyone has a soft spot for her. Even Rouge," Kurt replied, knowing what Remy was getting at but trying to avoid the subject.

"Well, if there's hope for Chaton, there's hope for me," Remy said smiling slightly.

Kurt froze and turned. "Did I mention Rouge ist mein scwester?"

"I had no idea," Remy said, only slightly uncomfortable, feeling that he could use this to his advantage.

"So what's going on between you and Chaton?" Remy asked, getting to the point.

"Katzchen?" Kurt shrugged, uncomfortable with talking about such a complicated and personal subject to someone who had been regarded as an enemy until very recently. "She's mein Fruend." Kurt replied, shrugging and hoping to come across as casual.

"Uh huh, seems like it," Remy said, smirking a bit.

Kurt let the topic go and began talking about where to find everything and such.

"The boys bathroom's down the hall. Miss Monroe and almost all the girls are incredibly clean, so they make us clean it once a week, we do our own laundry too, and we have danger room sessions at least every other day. And I have to admit that sometimes I talk in my sleep, but it's mostly in German. Oh and on occasion I don't sleep in this room," Kurt said, as he began to fold his own freshly laundered clothes and put them away.

Remy looked confused at this statement. "Do you have an amie with whom you spend nights with?"

Kurt was thankful for his extensive knowledge in quite a few languages, though in French he only knew a few bits and drabbles. Rooming with Remy would be much more simple with this lingual knowledge.

"Nein, I sometimes sleep in a guest bedroom," Kurt replied.

" Pourquoi?" Remy asked, lounging himself on his bed. He was eager to get to know everyone at the institute, and Rouge's brother and best friend seemed to be a good place to start.

"The room is right below Kitty and Rouge's bedroom. Sometimes when Kitty has a nightmare she phases, which can be dangerous because if she doesn't wake up in time she can fall into the earth and suffocate. So I rearranged that room so the bed is directly below Kitty's and I'll wake up when she falls through me," Kurt replied, a noticeable blush beneath his fur. Remy seemed nice enough, and harmless enough, telling him a little bit about the personal stuff couldn't hurt. Only a little bit though.

"What if you're wrong and she has a nightmare when you're not there?" Remy asked.

"Hasn't happened yet, and I doubt that it will happen. I just know when Kitty will have a nightmare," Kurt replied in a casual way.

Remy nodded, very impressed. "She's a sweet girl, very pretty too." Remy commented, though upon seeing Kurt's raised eyebrows quickly added. "But not my type, I prefer a girl's with a little more tragedy and edge. A challenge." The image of the girl of Remy's dream came to mind, and the knowledge that she was in the same house brought a smile to his lips.

"Like mein schwester?" Kurt asked, in a not too friendly, but not threatening way. Kurt's cell phone interrupted their conversations.

"Hello..." Kurt answered. "Amanda, hey... Tonight? Nein, I don't think so... I'm sorry, but I want to relax tonight....No, I did not mean that being with you isn't relaxing... Amanda, that's just ridiculous...Just not tonight, okay?... Ja, fine, bye," With a sigh Kurt hung up his phone.

"Now was that your amie?" Remy asked.

"Ja," Kurt answered, shaking his head slightly.

Remy stood up and walked over to the nightstand next to Kurt's queen sized bed. He picked up the only picture on it, which was of him and Kitty sitting against a tree trunk in autumn, leaves falling around them and perfect smiles on their faces. Kitty sat on Kurt's lap, his tail and arms around her waist. The blue of Kurt's fur lit up Kitty's own blue eyes and their cheeks were pressed together.

Remy placed the picture down and began to realize that maybe Kurt and Kitty's relationship was almost as challenging as his and Rouge's.

* * *

There's chapter two, thank you for reading! Oh, I really suck at writing accents so if anyone has suggestions on Kurt's, Remy's and Rouge's accents then please let me know! And also, I'm having a bit of trouble with the whole Remy and Rouge relationship. I know where I want to go, but am having a bit of trouble getting started so if you have any advice, it's be greatly appreciated.


	3. Aliens, Clowns and why the gals are down

"Do you seriously have a problem with Remy being here, or are you just putting on the 'I'm grumpy, angsty Rouge act'?" Kitty demanded as the two friends got ready for bed, adding a poor southern accent on the end. It had taken a long time and many near death experiences but the two had grown into close friends. Rouge was laying out her night clothes on her bed and Kitty kept glancing at her underwear drawer. She could have sworn that some were missing.

"Kit-Kat, the guy kidnapped me!" Rouge pointed out.

"And you kissed him," Kitty said, turning around and folding her arms across her chest, eyebrows quirked.

"I was freakin' possessed at the time and besides he passed out," Rouge reminded her ever optimistic friend, taking off her shirt to reveal her hourglass figure.

Kitty sighed, no matter what she said Rouge would always be right. She couldn't touch anyone and that was it. But there had to be a way, right?

"Look Rouge, I think he's a good guy. And I know he's head over heals for you," Kitty said leaving the room to go into their bathroom so she could run a bath. After making sure the water was a steamy hot and that there were lots and lots of bubbles, Kitty slid her tiny frame into the tub. She only had a few minutes to herself before Rouge came in, claiming to need to brush her teeth. Kitty took advantage of Rouge's inability to argue about Remy and continued their previous conversation.

"You're both southern, and only other southerns can put up with that southern temper," Kitty tossed at Rouge, which earned a glare.

"Fony futher figgy frunettes fhan fsand Foo!" Rouge said, her mouth full of toothpaste and her toothbrush, though Kitty was able to translate it as 'Only other twiggy brunettes can stand you.'

"Rouge," Kitty sighed, shaking her head. "You're insults were better when you didn't actually like me."

Rouge made a sound that was cross between a sarcastic laugh and hacking as she bent over the sink.

After thoroughly rinsing, Rouge put the cover of the toilet down and placed a towel underneath her.

"Sugah, what am I supposed to do?" Rouge sighed. "I mean it was fine when he was the enemy and I could hate him but now that he's under the same roof?"

Kitty popped her foot out of the water and grabbed her loofa and began scrubbing hard. Among many things, Kitty found feet disgusting and always scrubbed hers raw. "I don't know him very well Rouge, but I really think his heart's in the right place."

"It wouldn't matter if his heart was up his butt Kit, I still can't touch him," Rouge murmured, focusing on her foot, which she was shuffling on the fuzzy dark blue bathroom rug. Kitty and she had been at Linens and Things and everything fuzzy and blue had been on sale. Kitty had gone quite mad buying washcloths, towels, rugs, slippers, and even a pillowcase cover, though after sleeping on it one time and then waking up with blue fuzz in her hair, Kitty had decided not to use that again, all the suggestive looks and dirty innuendos about where exactly Kitty's head had been the night before had been too much for her.

"You've got to stop using that as an excuse. Admit that you're afraid, and it's not because of your mutation. Admit it's because you never knew your parent's and your damned adoptive mom is a sociopath," Kitty said, firm but gentle, earning an extreme glare from Rouge, which slowly wavered and melted away.

"Fine, I'm afraid. For a lot of different reasons," Rouge sighed.

"You don't trust him, do you?" Kitty asked, surveying her friend. Her face was freshly washed and all the Goth makeup was now gone. Her green eyes stood out against her porcelain skin, skin that couldn't be touched.

"I can't say that I do."

"Then that's the first step Rouge, you can't build any relationship without trust," Kitty advised, wondering who it was that she herself trusted with everything. Her answer was obvious as she thought about his yellow eyes that seemed to know everything.

"Yea, it'll take a lot for him to earn my trust," Rouge declared, laughing slightly.

"No kidding, it took me nearly a year, and I didn't kidnap you," Kitty said.

"No, you just happened to be my complete and total opposite," Rouge said, cracking a slight smile.

To answer that Kitty blew a handful of bubbles at Rouge, remembering when she had first come to the mansion. She was a whinny, self centered and annoying fifteen year old. Kitty could only hope that she had grown up since then.

"Okay, okay I'm going. No need to suds me up," Rouge yelped as she left the bathroom.

Rouge flopped down on her bed, placing her ipod buds in her ears.

'Why does he have to come here? I can't give him what he wants...Do I even want to give him what he wants?' Rouge lost herself in these musings and fell asleep, her hand slipped under her pillow and holding the Queen of hearts card.

Kitty came out of the bathroom, clad in a silky button up and boy shorts. Spotting Rouge, she pulled the ipod head phones, which was blaring heavy metal, out of her ears.

A loud crash outside in the hallway made Kitty jump and pad softly to the door, phasing her head out to check what was up. Kitty had to bite back a scream as she saw a man in a clown mask, rubbing his shoulder. A stream of brightly colored blasts shot at him, most landing square on his face. Jubilee stood at the other end of the hallway, eyes wild and nostrils flared.

"That hurts Jubes!" Roberto hissed as quietly as he could as he pulled off the half melted mask.

Jubilee huffed and flipped her hair over one shoulder.

"You'd think that you'd had enough ass whooping today after being blasted by Scott, but I guess not! You're just asking for it!" Jubilee, although whispering, still came off of as rather intimidating.

"Um.. Night you two," Kitty said as they both momentarily paused their whispered and hoarse argument to wish Kitty sweet dreams.

Kitty curled up in her bed and despite her better judgement turned on a scary movie. Unfortunately for her, the movie was based solely on aliens, a very frightening subject for Kitty.

Kitty quickly switched the tv off after an hour and was now alone, well not really, Rouge was there, but that girl was one heavy sleeper and not providing much in the comfort area. Kitty crept out of her bed and phased through the door, feeling bad that she was about to disturb Remy and Kurt's sleep, but she was seriously starting to lose her grip on reality. While she was walking down the hallway, she could have sworn she saw a shadow and heard a click when she passed the bathroom, the only light that illuminated the hallway. After many embarrassing moments were people would go into a room they mistook as the bathroom and then be attacked by the rooms resident, the Professor had made it a requirement for the bathroom lights to always be on. Mr. McCoy had tired of taking care of bruised and battered teens who were begging him to work faster so that they could finally go to the bathroom. Kitty froze when she heard the faint click, wishing that she could see in the dark like Kurt could, or locate people like Jean. Hell, even Scott's leader senses would due right now.

Kitty nearly screamed when she felt something brush against her hair, only one thought in her mind.

'Crappity, crap crap! Aliens!'

With that Kitty phased herself and walked on air as quickly as she could into Kurt and Remy's bedroom, nearly tripping over Remy's bo staff which was propped by the door.

"Fuzzy elf?" she whispered, feeling much safer now. Already knowing the layout of Kurt's room, Kitty made her way to Kurt's bed, which was slightly illuminated by a sliver of steely moonlight that broke through the curtains. Kurt was breathing heavy, his hand clutching at his sheets.

'Oh no, another nightmare. I wonder if it's about his childhood,' Kitty pondered as she drew closer to him. She may have come here seeking comfort, but she wanted to curl into his arms and fall asleep feeling something else. Kitty placed a small hand on Kurt's shoulder, caressing slightly as she marveled at how velveteen he felt. He moaned slightly and writhed as his fangs bit his bottom lip, Kitty's concern peaking as she feared he may break his skin and draw blood.

"Baby, it's okay," Kitty whispered in his ear, using one of her secret nicknames for him. She knew he'd hate it if she ever called him that to his knowledge, so she used it only in her fantasies. She was about to shake him slightly when he began talking in a hushed voice.

Kurt mumbled, "Meine Liebe, Ich werde sie kommen fur mich jede nacht," His tail snaked out from the blankets and slipped itself up her shirt, tracing a clumsy pattern below her belly button. She giggled slightly before gasping as it trailed lower, the tip brushing against her intimately through her shorts. She moaned quietly as the thicker part of the tail pressed itself into her, the rest of his tail coiling itself around her thigh.

'Nevermind, I really hope he's not dreaming about his childhood. I need to stop this, it's wrong, so wrong. I just saw freakin' ET out in the hallway and was terrified and now with a few simple touches from his tail, I'm turning into a horny school girl! And he's not even awake!' Kitty thought frantically as her hand on his shoulder reflexively tightened when his tail gripped her and stroked her more firmly. She could feel a growing heat spreading from where he his tail was touching and blushed furiously. His tail flexed and Kitty whimpered, trying to keep her hips from grinding, reminding herself that Remy was in the room and that Kurt himself was very unaware of what his traitorous tail was doing.

'Okay, I should phase out of his tails grasp and go to my room, obviously he doesn't know what he's doing or is having a dream about Amanda. Screw ET, there's enough adrenaline in my blood that I could so totally kick his ass right now.'

Kitty was about to phase herself out of his grip when suddenly his tail tightened, pressing harder, insistently.

"Kurt," Kitty gasped, her legs trembling slightly. At the sound of his name Kurt shifted in his sleep, his tail slithering from it's grip on Kitty's thigh, the tip of it flicking her button hard. Kitty shuddered and gasped as the warmth in between her legs ached for his touch. Biting back a whimper at the sudden lose of contact Kitty tried to put on a mask of normalcy.

"Katzchen, was ist los?" Kurt murmured, not quite awake. He could identify that voice anywhere. He cracked open a glowing gold eye and could clearly see Kitty, a nervous look on her face. He was a little disappointed at being disturbed from a wonderful dream, but the scent that met his nose made it worth it. Kurt breathed in slightly, a wonderful musky aroma clouding his thoughts, a scent that was purely Kitty. Usually she smelled clean and pure, a mixture of her soap and shampoo and the cherry blossom perfume she would use, with only ever a touch of her natural scent, which was coming off of her in waves right now. Kurt loved the smell of a woman, and Kitty's own perfume intoxicated him as he tried to embed the smell into his mind. Kurt noticed how she shifted slightly, rubbing her thighs together in attempted discretion.

'What the hell is Kitty doing in my bedroom at this hour of the night when she is very obviously turned on?' Kurt focused more through his sleepy, and horny, mind and saw that beyond the hormones that Kitty was fearful of something and was looking for Kurt so he could ease away her fears. Had she walked in on Scott and Jean having sex? Maybe she'd seen Fred naked? Kurt saw Kitty glance out the window nervously and knew exactly what had driven her out of bed.

"Aliens?"

"Yea, mind if I sleep here tonight?"

"Course not Leibchen," Kurt yawned as he lifted the covers, still very much curious and jealous about what had turned Kitty on. He knew it wasn't the aliens, those things really creeped her out, so whatever had been able to get her going through her fear must have been really something. Kurt's tail lifted in the air and made a come hither motion. Kurt noticed that Kitty blushed slightly and snuggled up to him, Kurt making sure that his now partially hard member was away from her. She heard him gasp slightly at her cold skin.

"Bitte Katzchen, I wish you would put on just a little weight, your freezing," Kurt sighed, wrapping his arms around her.

"That's why I have you and your fuzziness Fuzzy. you don't really think I put up with you cause I like you, do you? I only do it for the fur," Kitty purred playfully and nipped at his arm lightly, not noticing Kurt's intake of breath. "Besides, if I put on any weight then I wouldn't fit into your arms oh so perfectly," Kitty giggled as she snuggled closer. "And I have to be a certain weight for dance." Kitty reminded him of the strict regulations of Kitty's ballet and dance studio.

"Those people are nuts," Kurt murmured into her hair as his tail began drawing lazy circles on her upper thigh, her scent became stronger and Kurt raised his eyebrows at this. He was quickly learning all the hotspots and sensitive places on Kitty's lithe body and right after her neck, her things were the most sensitive area of her.

Biting her lip, Kitty dared herself to ask Kurt the question she needed to know the answer of. Even if he gave her the answer she dreaded and feared, Kitty knew he wouldn't let anything change between them. To him, they'd still be the inseparable Kitty and Kurt. But even if Kurt wouldn't let that change anything, Kitty knew that she would never be able to go back to how they were right now, snuggled in his bed. And Kitty wasn't ready to put it all out there, she needed to hang on to Kurt for as long as she could, even if she was deceiving herself. Yawning, she drifted off to sleep in the arms of her favorite elf for the second night in a row, trying to ignore the need rising from the apex of her thighs.

In the very same room, a certain Cajun had witnessed their little exchange. A slow smile that spread across his lips was the only evidence of this as he drifted away, dreaming of a certain southern beauty.

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Kurt's eyes shot open. An interesting sensation was coming from his very sensitive tail. Pushing back the blankets he could now see the purpose for these feelings. Kitty Pryde was sucking and nibbling on the spade of his tail. Kurt bit back a hiss of pleasure and desperately tried not to purr. Glancing at the clock he could see that the time was eight o'twelve.

Smiling, he looked down at the sleeping girl in his arms and tried to remember how she got there. Had she somehow seen Fred naked? No, Kurt certainly hoped not. Of course, it was aliens.

'I'll have to raid her room and take all the scary movies,' He decided. 'But then again, after watching them she usually ends up in my bed. Maybe I'll give her more. Oh mein Gott..'

Kurt's inner musings stopped as all coherent thought left him. Kitty had now moved her attention from the spade to where the spade and the shaft of the tail meet, easily the second most sensitive part of his tail, the first being where the tail itself attached to his body.

Moaning slightly, Kurt's eyes widened before shutting them.

Clearing his throat, he knew he'd have to put a stop to this.

"Leibes," He shook her shoulder gently, only resulting in her holding him tighter.

"Come on, I hate to leave this bed but I have an eight thirty danger room session with Logan, and if he smells you on me again then he'll make a rug out of me."

Kitty groaned and pulled him closer for a moment, then rolled over and let go.

Kurt reluctantly rose from his bed, glancing over to see if Remy was still there, which he was. Kurt pondered having Kitty go back to her own room, but looking back down at her he couldn't bear the thought of kicking her out of his bed. Besides, she was so thin that she was hardly noticeable in Kurt's bed.

"Do anything to her and your dead Remy," He muttered in a joking voice.

"No worries mon ami, my eyes are on your sister," was Remy's muffled reply from his nest of blanket's he had formed on his bed overnight.

Kurt was at first startled and then chuckled before realizing what he said.

"Yea, watch it now," Kurt warned in a half playful, half threatening voice. Leaning forward, he kissed Kitty's forehead and bamfed to the bathroom.

Remy raised himself up from the bed and glanced over at Kurt's bed, having to squint to see the small hump beneath the blankets which was now beginning to stir.

Remy made a quick trip to the bathroom and returned to see Kitty stretching literally like a cat.

"Do you often find yourself in Bleu's bed, Chaton?" He asked, winking suggestively.

Kitty raised her eyebrows and answered.

"Je avoir pas une foistrouve a mieux endroit au s'éveiller à, il est comme si venir maison," Kitty sighed as she spoke, laughing a bit at Remy's surprised face.

"I'm impressed, you speak French well," Remy complimented.

"Thanks, I've managed to pick up Italian, Latin, and Greek as well. And Yiddish, cause I'm Jewish. Though I really wish I'd stopped and at least bought a German dictionary so I could understand Kurt. For all I know he could be insulting me half the time," Kitty giggled, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

You two are close, non?"

"Very, closer then Rouge and I are actually," Kitty answered, getting out of Kurt's bed and making it.

"And what exactly are your feelings for Bleu?" Remy pressed a little further. He could get used to living here and watching Kitty and Kurt fumble and fall through their emotions, occasionally offering his hand in help.

"Well, I guess I never really grew out of liking smurfs," Kitty answered trying to avoid the question. Upon seeing Remy's skeptical face she sighed and sank down onto Kurt's now neatly made bed.

"I can like totally trust him, and I can breathe around him. I really don't know how I feel Remy, I just know that I can't get in between Amanda and him. But he's my Fuzzy Elf, ya know?" Kitty looked thoroughly confused at the end of this and decided to attempt to return the favor and pick Remy's brain. "How about you? Why'd you join us?"

"Needed a change of scenery. Needed a home, people to care and people to care for. I've had fun out on my own but after meeting your roomie, I was left feeling empty," Remy sighed, answering as truthfully as he could. He wasn't sure what had led him to Xavier's steps, but he felt that it was something wonderful.

Kitty broke out into a smile. "You'll find that all here, just don't let them catching you smoking." She warned before getting off of Kurt's bed.

"I better go before I get caught. See you at breakfast Remy," Kitty said phasing herself through the wall. A second later her head popped back in, startlingly Remy. "Oh and I'll tell Rogue you said morning." She added with a wink.

Remy nodded, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Until breakfast Petite."

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Jubilee yelled out in frustration. She threw the contents of her drawer onto the floor before moving onto another one.

"They're gone Rahne! All gone! No where to be found!" Jubilee continued her rant as she popped her gum into her mouth, chewing furiously.

"They have to be somewhere Lass, bra's and panties don't just walk away ya know," Rahne assured her, kneeling down to pick up Jubilee's scattered clothes.

"I bet it was Bobby and Sam again, those freaks!" Jubilee huffed. Her morning routine of shower, dressing and eating breakfast had stopped at the dressing part. She stood with her black hair dripping onto the wooden floor of the room she shared with Rahne with a soft purple towel wrapped around her.

'I'm going to kill those two!' Jubilee thought, turning around quickly and heading for the door.

"Wait Lass, ya may want to dress first, you don't want to shock the poor boys," Rahne suggested.

"Ugh fine, can I borrow some skivvies and a bra?"

Rahne looked at her blankly. Had she honestly just called underwear skivvies?

Slowly her face melted into a grin and she began rolling with laughter.

"Fine, underwear, or whatever the hell you want to call it! You're laughing at me when your countrymen don't even wear underpants!" A knock on the door interrupted their conversation.

Without waiting for an answer Bobby stepped into the room, his arms full of frilly, silky, cottony, polka dotted, striped, plaid and various other patterned undergarments. He looked both very frightened and thrilled as he took notice to Jubilee's attire, or rather lack there of.

Jubilee let out a growl that Bobby almost mistook as coming from Rahne.

"Jubes chill, it wasn't me I swear," Bobby said, backing away.

"I'm gonna go off to breakfast," Rahne said as she quickly took her leave.

"Yea right, more like she's gonna try to catch Roberto as he comes out of the shower," Bobby muttered as he piled his found loot onto Jubilee's bed.

"So where exactly did you find these?" Jubilee demanded, hugging her towel a little closer.

"Jamie's ferret has been on a warpath stealing people's unmentionables. I was looking for my stuff when I found this brightly colored bunch and figured they were yours. I must admit Jubes, I'm shocked..." Bobby said as he held up a lacy thong. Jubilee snatched them away and muttered something about how they were comfier when wearing the X uniform.

"Uh-huh, I'm sure that's why you have them. Oh and Jubes, I'm really glad your parents let you come back," Bobby said as he turned to leave, giving Jubilee one last wink.

'I hate when he does that!' Jubilee thought as she scooped up her private clothes and put them in her drawer. Jubilee and Rahne had returned here a week ago when their school years had finished, and after the initial happy and thrilled reunion, Bobby had barely spoken one word to her. Their interaction had pretty much been him pulling random pranks on her, like yesterday when he and Sam took her phone and sent a text to everybody in her contact list. The text of course was received by almost everybody in the mansion and Jubilee had spent most of the day teased and taunted for her terror of clowns.

'Now he comes in here with my rescued panties acting as though I hadn't left for three months. He had my email address and phone number. Did he ever email me? Nope, not once. Rahne had gotten over a hundred emails from Roberto and Sam, but Bobby didn't even bother to tell me about Apocalypse and the near destruction of the world! And the only text that I got was one wishing me a happy birthday,' Jubilee thought bitterly. 'I mean yea I didn't respond to his text, but whatever...' She sighed, picking out a colorful bra and underwear set, hoping that they might help brighten her mood.

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"Good morning Chere," Remy's voice interrupted Rouge as she tried to decide which gloves to wear. The black leather ones with the studs or the black leather ones without the studs. Decisions, decisions....

'Why must my day start off with seeing him?' Rouge thought, feeling her heart flutter. Rouge attempted to make her face indifferent, though she only managed to go from flustered to annoyed, which worked well enough for Rouge.

"Gumbo," She said as she turned around to see Remy leaning against her bedroom doorframe. "I'm never gonna get used to see you every morning."

"I'm sure you're much more accustomed to seeing me in your dreams every night," Remy suggested innocently.

"Ugh, just leave," Rouge demanded as she pulled on her gloves (she had settled on the ones without studs). She sat on her bed with her back toward him, doing her best to ignore the unwanted, but oh so desired, intruder.

"All right mon Chere," Remy said as he did the opposite and entered her room.

Rouge heard the footsteps but didn't turn around, intent on making it clear that Remy's presence was a nuisance.

Stepping forward, Remy's lips fell on the hair that covered Rouge's ear.

Rouge's green eyes went wide on the contact, but didn't pull away.

"I'm very pleased to be living with mon Chere," Remy said as he walked out the door, leaving Rouge with a beating heart and numb hands.

That was it. She hated him. Rouge hated the damn Cajun. Why must he torture her? He knew just as well as she did that it could never happen. It just couldn't. Rouge had finally begun to think that she was coming to terms with living the rest of her life without human touch, and then the one person who she dreams of touching struts into her life and under the same roof.

Wiping a tear away, Rouge grabbed her gym gear and left the room, still cursing the handsome son of a gun.

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A knock on the door forced Kitty to set down her book on the living room coffee table. Opening the door, she was greeted by the last person she wanted to see, besides maybe Lance. Amanda Sefton was smiling warmly back at her.

It wasn't that she didn't like Amanda, on the contrary she really did like Amanda. She was nice, pretty and had curves that the barely 105 pound Kitty was sure would look awful on her. But she was Kurt's girlfriend, a position Kitty found herself coveting more everyday.

"Amanda, hey! Come on in!" While Kitty made a terrible liar, she could at least half ass her way into pretending to be happy to see someone. It was a trait that she had picked up while living in a house full of hormonal, snappy and ornery teenagers.

"Thanks Kitty, Kurt's around isn't he?" Amanda asked, stepping into the mansion.

Kitty nodded, she had just seen Kurt when he was on his way to get a second shower after his danger room session with Logan. He had been sweaty, his muscles were still tensed...

'Whoa, Kitty, gotta stop thinking about him like that..' Kitty reminded herself as he directed Amanda into the living room.

"Yea, he just went to go get a shower," Kitty said, glancing over at Amanda again. She was an African American with a warm brown complexion brown complexion and dark brown eyes, a complete opposite of pale and frail Kitty.

The two sat down and smiled silently at one another.

"So how have you been?" Kitty asked sweetly, determined to be friendly.

'It's not the girl you don't like Pryde, jealousy and envy will not make you be a bitch,' Kitty repeated grimly in her mind.

Realizing that Amanda had answered Kitty drew herself back from her inner thoughts and nodded, hoping that was an appropriate response to the answer Amanda had given.

"How about you Kitty? Enjoying summer so far?"

"Yea, it's nice to not have to go into a high school where almost everyone hates you," Kitty said with a sigh. Another wave of guilt crashed on her. She should really appreciate that Amanda didn't mind that they were all mutants, that attested to how good of a person Amanda really was.

'And how crappy of a person I am,' Kitty thought miserably, reflecting back to when she first arrived here and how she treated everyone, especially Kurt.

Amanda's face suddenly reflected a look of either pure horror or absolute amusement, or most likely a mix between both.

"What in God's name are you four doing?" Kitty demanded when she got off the couch to see what had distracted Amanda. Standing before her were Bobby, Roberto, Ray and Sam, all of them very much without shirts.

"We're settling this once and for all, Kitty Pryde, which one of us has the best chest?" Bobby demanded as the guys all lined up in front of her.

"Bobby, dude, for the last time say upper body! You make us sound like girls comparing bra sizes when you say chest!" Sam said, cringing.

Kitty had to smile at this rather welcomed interruption. Not only did not it save her from being with Amanda alone but she also got to eye up her teammates. Not a bad deal.

"No, you guy's sound worse then girls comparing bra sizes," Kitty said as Amanda began to crack up.

"Kitten just answer the question, we're not leaving until you do," Ray said, flexing his body.

"Fine, fine... Um, none of you are exactly flabby, working with Wolvie must really be paying off," Kitty mused as she looked at them. After a moment of observation she had come to her conclusion.

"All right, Sam has the best shoulders," She said glancing at the used to be farm boy with broad and obviously strong shoulders. "And Ray's got very impressive arms. Bobby's abs almost rival Angel's and Roberto, like most Brazilians, has an amazing V cut. There, are ya happy?" Kitty concluded, thinking to herself that while all that was true, they would still be put to shame by Kurt.

Each guy seemed pleased by the given answer and took a moment to admire their complimented body part, thus making their ego's almost to big to contain in one room.

"And don't even think about asking Amanda!" Kitty said quickly, giggling as Amanda almost fell off the couch from laughing.

"Nah, she's got a boyfriend. This merchandise is for single gals only, like you Pretty Kitty," Bobby said with a wink.

As the word boyfriend was spoken Kitty felt a ripping in her chest, followed by a hollowing numbness. She pushed this back quickly and laughed.

"Merchandise? Congrats Bobby, you've now succeeded at making you guys sound like insecure thirteen year old girls and hookers. Oh and that nickname was so totally ruined by Alvers Bobby, you better think of a new one," Kitty replied with a slight smile.

"I'll get on that," Bobby chuckled. "Come on guys, we still have to ask Amara and Rouge."

Roberto, Sam and Bobby started making their way to the door, strutting happily.

"No way are we asking Rouge, she'll drain our shirtless bods if we step one foot in her room!" Roberto interjected, shaking his ego inflated head.

Kitty gave Ray a questioning look as he stepped closer to where she stood.

"You know, these strong arms of mine would be happy to hold you anytime," He said with a quirked eyebrow and mischievous look.

Kitty would have been incredibly alarmed if she had not known that Ray was a complete and utter flirt with everyone in the house, a trait that practically painted a target on his back when Logan had him in the Danger Room.

She leaned closer to the sixteen year old and placed her hands on his chest, slowing beginning to walk forward until Ray's back was flat against the wall, a surprised look on his face.

"Ya know Ray, I've had my eye on you for a long time," Kitty said, looking up at him and giving him the best kiss me look she could manage without bursting out laughing.

"Really?" Ray whispered, practically breathlessly. He began dipping his head down to meet her lips, Ray closed his eyes.

'Hell, I was just kidding but I'll go for this,' Was his last thought as he prepared to kiss her.

Kitty smiled, knowing she had him now. With a shove she phased him through the wall and into the kitchen as a surprised yelp and crash followed.

Kitty could hardly hear Ray calling her a tease over Amanda and her laughter.

"Oh my god, I thought you were really going to kiss him!" Amanda choked out.

"So did he!" Kitty gasped, wiping tears away from her eyes. She felt very pleased with herself and also very accomplished. Here she was with the girl she envied most in the world and they were both just about convulsing from laughing.

"So did I."

At the sound of Kurt's voice both girl's managed to pull themselves together enough to greet him as he came into the room.

"Hey Kurt!" Amanda said happily as she stood up to hug him.

His slightly wet fur was drying to a puff and his tail was whipping around in an agitated way.

"Kitty, you really shouldn't joke around like that," Kurt said in a condescending voice that Kitty rarely heard. Usually Kurt was right next to her when it came to playing jokes. Hell, they'd even been dubbed the K Team after pulling off a prank that involved flypaper, maple syrup, 14 salamanders and a very freaked out Mr. McCoy.

"I was just messing around Kurt," Kitty said defensively, crossing her arms over her chest.

Kurt shrugged as if it made no difference to him before he kissed Amanda.

Kitty felt her stomach turn and her throat tighten, tell tale signs that she was going to cry. Kitty could've have sworn she felt her heart drop and phase out of her and into the floor. Nothing had ever hurt so much, not even when Lance would attack her one day and then hit on her the next. Nothing hurt more then to see Kurt in the arms of another.

"I'll give you two some privacy," Kitty said, trying to keep the venom out of her voice. She couldn't even manage to take one step, and if she could have brought herself to walk then that would mean having to go past them to get to the door, and Kitty didn't think she had enough strength to hold back the tears if she got any closer to the happy couple. So she did the one thing that felt right, she sank into the floor to look for her fallen heart.

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When Jubilee and Rahne had told Amara to look out for three delicious vanilla shakes and one steamy mocha latte, she had no idea what they had been talking about. But after she had shooed the boys from her room, biting her tongue to keep from laughing and ruining the disgusted scowl on her face, she had known exactly what they had meant.

She closed her door after sneaking one last peak at their bare backs, mumbling about how immature boys could be. Though she had to admit that it was one hunky view and she had never known Sam's shoulders were that broad.

Amara grabbed her brush and ran it through her dark brown hair, gazing at herself in the mirror. On her island home of Nova Roma, Amara had been considered the most beautiful of all, she was also a princess there too. But here, in a mansion full of beautiful girls, confidence was a fleeting thing. She looked into her brown eyes and sighed, wishing she had blue eyes like Kitty or Miss Monroe or green eyes like Jean, Rouge or Rahne.

'Why do some many people here have green eyes?' Amara mused as she looked down at a picture of all the X-Girls. In the middle was the tall Jean, damn near the embodiment of perfection with her red hair and long legs. Next to her was Jubilee, who always managed to look stunning and still have fun, her almond shaped eyes full of fire. She had an exotic edge to her thanks to her Asian heredity and the shiniest hair Amara had ever seen and her sleek body looked fantastic in any outfit. Her arm was around the sweet and quiet Rahne, who was probably the ultimate sweet girl. The most remarkable thing about Rahne's face was her jaw line and chin, which looked liked it was chiseled from marble. Her body was slimmer then Jean's, but she still had curves that made her look perfect in jeans. The shortest of all the girls was tiny Kitty, who honestly didn't have an ounce of fat on her. Her look was very versatile, sometimes coming across as the cute girl next door and other's as a gorgeous heartbreaker. Her big blue eye's could either be filled with innocence or total seduction and her thick mahogany hair looked great curly or straight. In the photo Kitty had her arm around Rouge's waist, who was keeping her beautiful and milky white skin as far away from everyone as possible. The Goth look was never one of Amara's favorites, but Rouge could pull it off. It went with the white stripes that were her bangs and the whole touch me not thing. No matter how much makeup Rouge put on it could never hide her lovely olive green eyes. She had an hourglass figure that she kept in shape with lots of physical exercise, which served as a way to vent her frustration also. Those girls were brilliant (Kitty was a total genius when it came to everything, except what to do in the kitchen), tough (Rouge took the cake on that one, Amara had seen her kick more ass then anyone on the team without even using her powers), warm (Although being able to morph into a wolf, Rahne was unbelievably loving), full of life (Amara had had no idea what enjoying every moment was until she had met Jubilee), determined (if Jean had a job to do, get out of her way, seriously) and of course gorgeous and beautiful.

And Amara was not. At least not in her opinion.

Standing up she moved on from investigating her face to examining her body. It wasn't fat of course, but it was defiantly rounder and softer then Kitty's or Jubilee's but lacked the voluptuous curves of Rouge and Jean.

"Ugh, I need a pick me up," Amara sighed, as she threw herself down on her bed.

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Rahne was running in her wolf form, unbelievably glad to be back at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters once more. She'd always miss Scotland, no where could compare to the plush rolling hills and breathtaking views. Besides, the people there were fairly more welcoming to mutants then those of New York. But Rahne had felt as though she had been standing still when she was home. Nothing was moving forward and she wasn't doing an ounce of good.

'Well, except for when I found that lost boy using me nose, but other then that I was worthless,' Rahne pondered as she skidded to a stop, morphing now into her human form.

Sitting down on the grass, Rahne looked out onto the bay. She couldn't help but wonder what the world was coming to. Rahne was either gifted or cursed with incredible insight and she often found herself getting lost in her thoughts about the future. She had a deep down feeling that this torment and misery would never end, that human and mutant suffering would always be there. And people did this to one another.

As much as Rahne wanted to believe the idealistic view that humans and mutants could get along, she knew how difficult and near impossible it was. Regular humans couldn't even get along. Hell, it had been just over 60 years ago when 11 million Polish people, gypsies, and Jews had been treated far worse then mutants were being treated now. And they were all innocent, even normal. So what hope was there for mutants to be accepted?

Rahne felt her heart grow heavy, as the shattering of hope erupted in her chest. Sniffing the air, she smelled a mixture of tears and cherry blossoms and turned back to the mansion in time to see Kitty rising up from the ground, a torn expression on her face. Rahne contemplated going to comfort her friend, but decided that Kitty needed time to herself. Besides, considering Rahne's current mindset, she'd probably end up making Kitty more upset. Again with the feeling of worthlessness.

'Damn, I thought I'd left that behind in Scotland,' Rahne thought, laying down on the grass.

'I suppose the only thing a person can do is be as good as they can be, and love as much as humanly possible,' Rahne sighed at this, hoping to shield herself from the cold and bitter side of humanity. Closing her eyes, Rahne began humming a happy little tune, trying to keep a smile on her face.

When she had admitted to herself that she had failed to block out the ideas of a terrible future, Rahne let out a little growl and hopped to her feet, checking her two hair buns for twigs and grass.

'Great, now I've got me self into a funk,' Rahne thought after she was satisfied that there were no bugs in her hair. Turning her back on the seemingly endless bay she faced the Xavier institute, praying with all her heart that the dream of humans and mutants coexisting could be realized.


	4. A Kitty in a tree

Kurt watched as Kitty slipped into the floor, leaving him and Amanda alone.

'Schiesse, now she's pissed at me,' Kurt thought. He knew he had been wrong to treat Kitty like that but after watching her survey the bare bodies of the four stooges, and then damn near kiss one of them, he had let his jealousy take over.

Amanda tried to hold his hand but Kurt pulled it away quickly.

Amanda let out a sigh. They had been like this for a while now, ever since one of her loudmouthed friends had let it slip that the only reason Amanda wanted Kurt was because he was a mutant. Apparently Amanda had a thing for odd and extreme things, and the fact that Kurt was from Germany, a mutant and blue made him irresistible to her. Of course she had grown to care for Kurt, but he was acting colder and more distant all the time.

Kurt silently looked over at her, staring into her brown eyes. And all Kurt wanted to see were Kitty's lively blue eyes. He knew what was coming, and he had a feeling that Amanda did too. They had truly had a good time together over their five month relationship, but the infatuation had died and Kurt's real love began to surface once more. The heart wants what the heart wants.

"Look Kurt, I know what you're thinking," Amanda said softly. Kurt felt a small twinge of guilt as he remembered how easy it was to be swept up into liking Amanda. Finally someone had liked him, but he hadn't realized that she only liked him because he was a mutant.

"Amanda," Kurt began, knowing that ending it was what needed to happen for both of them. He glanced down at her pretty face that was etched with concern and heartbreak. "We both know it's not working."

"I know. It isn't. I'm sorry if you ever felt like I was using you," Amanda said, her own guilt finding it's way into her voice. She pushed her hair behind her ear and shifted her gaze down.

"We used each other. I wanted something normal, because I felt like I was so far from it," Kurt replied, owning up to his own faults.

"You really are a great guy Kurt, everyone knows that." Amanda said somewhat sadly, forcing herself to look him in the eyes, knowing the real reason why her relationship with Kurt could never go beyond silly high school crush, though she knew he'd never admit it.

"And you're amazing Amanda, I really did learn a lot from you," Kurt said, a thousand emotions running through him.

"I did too Kurt, it definitely wasn't a waste of time," Amanda said. She fidgeted slightly before swallowing hard and meeting his gaze, prepared to admit the thing that she'd been denying for the past five months. "And I can't compete with her Kurt, I tried to make you love me, but she was always there, just being herself. It's okay though, it hurts right now, but that's part of living," Amanda laughed gently.

Kurt smiled at the bittersweetness of it all. Amanda leaned forward and kissed Kurt on the cheek before getting up to leave. Kurt listened to her footsteps, a sad yet somehow fulfilling sound, the creak of the front door and the loud click of it shutting. And just like that, it was done. They were done.

His heart swelled with relief, sadness, hope and joy, then regret as he remembered Kitty's departure.

'She's probably in the arms of Alvers,' Kurt thought, holding his head in his hands. 'I'm such an ass.'

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Scott and Jean were driving down the road, a picture perfect couple. Jean's red hair was being blown out by the wind and Scott would sneak a glance at her every once in a while, feeling that he was the luckiest guy in the world. Sure they were hunted, nearly killed and damn near hated, but they were together.

Scott felt Jean's slim and soft hand fold into his and his world almost felt complete, the only thing he needed to do was skin Jamie's ferret, and then Scott could die a happy man.

Scott spotted Kitty walking on the sidewalk and honked his hello.

Jean and he laughed when they saw her accidently phase through a mailbox from being startled, though Jean didn't fail to notice that she seemed upset. They drove a few more minutes and stopped at the Mansion's gate, waiting for it to open for them, which it did slowly and reluctantly. The electricians from Japan still hadn't shown up, but a very determined Beast, Kitty and Ray had set to work getting at least some of the electricity to work and had managed to revive the security cameras and lights. But extra things like TV or the computer weren't an option and the girls had a 15 minute limit on using hairdryers, curling irons and straighteners. Worse yet was that the AC was the biggest causality of the electricity shortage and the heat was what eventually prompted Jean and Scott to take a drive. They passed a white sedan that Scott was pretty sure belonged to Kurt's girlfriend, and Rahne who looked distant and confused.

Scott felt slightly guilty at the thought of Kurt, the two of them hadn't really talked in a while, a long while.

'Come to think of it, I haven't spent any time with the guys..' Scott thought as he pulled into the garage. His absence from the house could be blamed on his relationship with Jean, the two of them were near inseparable. Scott sighed, knowing he had been neglecting his duty as role model for the X chromosomes of the house.

'That's it,' Scott thought, opening the door for Jean. 'Tonight will be brotherly bonding...damn that sounded weird...'

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Kitty bent over and began picking up the mail that she had accidently taken with her when she phased through the mailbox. Trying to be discreet, Kitty shoved the letters, bills and magazines back into the slot. Quickly she turned and walked on, not really caring where she went, as long as it was faraway from the heartbreak of watching Kurt and Amanda.

She'd made a lot of mistakes in her relationship with Kurt. First by acting like a stuck up bitch when they first met, calling him creepy and yelling at him to stay away from her. Then by being self absorbed and dating Lance, what a huge mess that was. And now, when she and Kurt had an amazing friendship, she was screwing that all up by falling for him. Kitty scowled as she ticked these off in her head, deciding that it all sounded like some bad romantic comedy starring Rene Zellwigger.

'Except she has a bigger chest, blonde hair and always gets the guy in the end,' Kitty thought as she found herself in Bayville park, which was a good three miles from the mansion. Kitty glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that it was only eleven in the morning. Fanning her pink and flushed face, Kitty found shade up in a tree as she began trying to ease her mind. Slowly she felt her heart begin to beat again, though she would choke on her breath as the image of Kurt kissing Amanda kept coming to mind. She toyed with the idea of returning to Chicago for the summer, but she couldn't leave Rogue to deal with Remy by herself and Rahne and Jubilee had just returned. Besides, the Mansion was her home.

"Oh, look, Pretty Kitty got stuck up in a tree!" A drunken and slurred voice brought Kitty's attention down to the ground below her. She hadn't thought her day could really get much worse, but she realized she was very wrong.

Below her was Todd, Fred and Lance, each holding a paper bag that Kitty was sure contained some kind of alcoholic beverage.

"Little early, don't you think you guys?" She asked in a disgusted voice. Kitty wasn't against drinking, but she was against drinking before noon.

"Just trying to start the summer off on the right foot, Kitten," Lance responded, staggering a bit. "Why don't you come down here and chat with us a while?"

"Yea, here kitty, kitty, come here," Todd laughed as he hopped up onto a picnic table. Fred laughed and staggered as Kitty desperately hoped he wouldn't fall and cause an earthquake.

"Are you guys like still drunk from last night?" She had heard about a wild party at the brotherhood house that had happened the night before and the three of them really looked like hell. 'Tabby probably blew their house up when she was drunk,' Kitty thought with a laugh. 'Good for her.'

"What's it matter to you?" Lance demanded. His expression was slowly changing from nonchalant drunk to pissed off ex-boyfriend.

"Just go home and get some sleep, I don't want to talk to you," Kitty yelled, her temper flaring, feeling that she had had enough drama for one day.

"Not until you come down here and give me a kiss," Lance replied, a bitter smirk on his face as the two morons behind him whooped and hollered.

"Hell no, I'm not coming down!" Kitty said, glaring daggers down at Lance.

"Fine, then I'll make you!" Lance bit back, throwing down his paper bag covered bottle and thrusting his hands out in front of him.

A quick rumbling could be heard and the tree Kitty was in shook violently. Kitty's head whipped back and she saw flashes of white as her head met with the thick tree. She lost her balance and fell, to surprised to phase. She felt her ribcage collide with a sturdy branch as sharp twigs left scratches on her arms. One particularly jagged branch caught the side of her neck and Kitty felt a burning sensation. She landed on her left knee with a yelp of pain. She rolled over onto her back and saw a large branch from the tree falling toward her. Kitty quickly phased herself into the ground and 'swam' painfully for a couple seconds before pulling herself out of the ground in time to see the retreating backs of the three hoods, Todd yelling about how they had to get out of there before she called her X-Geek friends.

Kitty staggered to her feet and glanced around to make sure no one else was hurt. Luckily most people in Bayville were inside enjoying their air conditioning and there had been no witnesses. There wasn't too much damage done to the tree, only one of it's limbs had fallen from it.

Pulling up her shirt, Kitty gingerly poked and prodded her ribs. When she was satisfied that they were only bruised and not broken, she sunk onto a bench and fought not to cry.

'Can I be anymore worthless?' Kitty berated herself as blood trickled from the cut on her neck.

She considered calling someone for help, but didn't want people to make a big deal about it. Lance had been drunk and hurt, and Kitty, despite being with the X-Men for almost two years, was simply to slow to act to save herself from these injuries. Besides, she didn't want anyone to think she couldn't handle herself, even though her bruised and battered knee told her that she obviously couldn't.

No, she'd suffer through this on her own. The pain almost felt good, it eased the aching of her heart as she thought about how weak Kurt would consider her if he ever found out about this.

Kitty rose slowly, deciding that if she wasn't back by lunch then someone would try and find her. She walked very carefully, feeling the different pains of her body. Her left knee was throbbing dully in sync with her heartbeat and the cut on her neck stung and burned if Kitty raised or turned her head. Her ribs caused her to walk slowly and gently as sharp and fresh pains would cause her to cringe and double over, which in turn made the pain five times worse.

'I must look incredibly pathetic ,' Kitty thought bitterly. She tried to feel anger towards Lance, but didn't have the strength in her heart for any emotion except hurt from the knowledge that the guy she needed in her life already had the perfect girl, who wasn't a mutant freak like Kitty was.

Kitty shuffled along the sidewalk, her eye's seeing only her feet moving on the ground. She was trying to think of a cover story for when she got back to the mansion. The moment she walked into the kitchen then Logan or Kurt or Rahne would smell her blood and she would have a lot of explaining to do.

'The sub levels would be the best to enter through. No one will see or smell me and the Danger Room showers and medical room are there too. Now i just have to make it there without passing out,' Kitty decided as she stumbled on a rock and had to steady herself on a road sign. Kitty wasn't sure, but she could have sworn she just heard someone laughing at her.

"Hey slowpoke, you're moving slower then usual," A fast talking and high pitched voice said from behind her.

'Oh dear God, now I know you hate me,' Kitty thought as she cringed, knowing now for certain that someone had been laughing at her. The company Kitty had found herself with today were basically the last people she wanted to be with. First there was Amanda, then Lance and now Pietro. Yep, the big man upstairs really had it out for her.

Kitty attempted to straighten her back and bit back a cry of pain. She realized how hot she felt, and how much her head was swimming. Nausea swept over her and she prayed that she wouldn't throw up, knowing that if her stomach heaved against her ribs then she wouldn't be able to keep from crying and vomiting right now would rob her of the last dignity and self respect she had.

"Pietro, please go," Kitty managed to say weakly.

Kitty felt a quick and cool breeze rush past her and Pietro was now standing in front of her, his eyes widening when he saw the state she was.

"What the fuck, you look like hell," He said, before nodding knowingly. "I thought that shaking I felt was Lance. Ya know, you really shouldn't have pissed him off," Pietro said, as Kitty began seeing double of him, his speedy speech pattern making her head throb in a numb anguish. Kitty lifted her arm and swatted at him, trying to express her discontent with his and his doubles presence.

"Get out of my way," Kitty said as she attempted to take another step but ended up sinking to her knees, her left knee protesting in flashes of affliction. "And why aren't you drunk like the others?"

"My metabolism is higher then theirs. Call one of your X-Men, you can't walk back in this heat," He advised as he stood next to her.

"No, I'm not calling them," Kitty replied firmly, shaking her head, which stretched the cut on her neck more.

Pietro cracked a smile at her raw stubbornness.

"Pryde's pride getting in the way?"

Kitty braced her palms on the concrete in front of her, her arms shaking as she tried to get back on her feet.

She was surprised when she felt Pietro's hand on her arm, helping her.

"Yea, something like that," She replied, taking a few deep breaths and relishing in the pain in her ribs as her lungs expanded. She shook her arm loose of Pietro's hand and looked him in his icy blue eyes.

"If you're going to tease and taunt me then just get it over with. At the rate I'm going I won't make it home until dark and I don't need you holding me up."

Pietro kept her steady gaze and sighed after a moment and narrowed his eyes.

"This is how it's going to be Pryde. Someone has to help you, and by the looks of it, you're going to pass out soon. And if your X-Freaks find you lying on the side of the road, then they'll come to my place and a whole hell of a mess will follow, and I just spent the morning cleaning up after that party. Do you have any idea how messy a drunk Tabitha is?" Pietro demanded as Kitty growled for him to get to the point or move out of her way.

"Anyway, with all my team laying around with hangovers, then your X squad will be able to wipe the floor with us. So, to avoid a lot of trouble, you're going to let me help you," Pietro sighed, clenching his jaw and making it obvious that this idea was just as unpleasant to him.

"I don't need your help," Kitty said, lying to herself.

"Like when I didn't need your help when I was in that falling trunk?" Pietro said, reminding her of when she had jumped into a trunk and had phased them out as it fell off the side of the road and down a sharp drop. Kitty barked out a small laugh, though it turned into a painful gasp as a new sensation of pain coursed through her.

Pietro rolled his eyes. "Don't be stupid, just call it payback."

Kitty let herself be lifted into his arms, groaning as his hand pressed into her ribs painfully. She hurdled her arms close to her chest and attempted to keep her head erect, though the cut on her neck was making that very difficult so reluctantly she gave in and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Damn Pryde, don't you eat?"

And with that they were off, the breeze cooling Kitty off. She had never felt so worthless and weak in her life, in the arms of the enemy.

'No wonder the stupid fuzzy guy doesn't want me,' Kitty thought bitterly, the world around her a mere blur.


	5. Logan has no fucking magical fairy code

Rouge crinkled her nose as she smelled the soup she had just pulled from the fridge. It was her day to make lunch and trying to find food that would please the houseful of mutants was never easy. The heat that was coming from the oven was almost unbearable and Rouge cursed Ray and Roberto, who had insisted on a pizza for their lunch.

Rouge always hated having to wear so many clothes, but she especially hated it in heat like this. While everyone else ran around in shorts and tank tops, Rouge had to have a least a gauzy covering on her.

Finally deciding to skip the soup and go for a fruit salad instead, Rouge began cutting up the watermelon, cantaloupe and bananas, humming quietly as she went to work.

Bobby came in a moment later, looking slightly tired and worn out.

"Hey icicle, do you think pizza, fruit salad, and ice cream is alright for lunch?" Rouge asked, happy to see that the guys had wasted no time in restocking the freezer with many cool treats.

"Sounds great Rouge," Bobby replied, getting a glass of water.

Rouge noticed his lethargic and lackadaisical movements, which were a far cry from his usual ornery behavior and asked, "What's up with you?"

"Well, seeing as how the air conditioning is down and out, and it's freakin' blazing outside, everyone has decided to hunt me down so that I can ice up their rooms for them. After about six rooms, I nearly passed out," He replied as he stuck his head in the freezer.

"Oh, I see," Rouge laughed a little. Usually Bobby's antics with icing everything was annoying, but on days like today it could really come in handy. She thought for a moment to ask him to do the kitchen but decided that that was too mean when he already looked beat.

She glanced over at the boy, examining him for a moment. He was a couple months younger then Kitty and had just gotten his drivers license. Rouge knew he always meant well, but his joking nature often got in the way, actually almost always got in the way. However, after Jubilee and Rahne left, Bobby had withdrawn slightly and eased up on the jokes. Though lately it seemed as if the old Bobby was back.

"So isn't it great to have Rahne and Jubilee back?" Rouge asked, trying to sound casual. Usually she hated prying into others business, that was more Jean and Kitty's thing, but she needed something to take her mind off the heat and she knew off the teenagers affection for one another.

Bobby tensed noticeably before glancing at Rouge suspiciously, narrowing his brown eyes.

"Yea, it is. They're by the pool right now actually," Bobby answered slowly, pointing towards the hole in the kitchen wall where the back door had been before Cyke decided to blow it, along with the ceiling of the kitchen, to hell,

Rouge sighed and waved the knife in an absent way. "I missed them. The two of them really brought some life into this house," Rouge said as she noticed her movements with the knife and set it down.

"And I suspect Remy will bring life to the house too," Bobby replied mischievously, thinking that two can play this game. He chuckled a bit when he saw Rouge's cheek color, knowing it wasn't from the heat.

"I suppose he will, but he better not pull any funny stuff or his ass is out of here," Rouge said, trying to keep an edge in her voice.

"And we wouldn't want that, now would we Rouge?" Bobby asked with his eyebrows raised. He got up, made an ice Christmas tree, with an ace of hearts at the top, and walked out of the room.

Rouge relished in the cold that was coming off of it in waves, thinking that enduring a few jabs for being attracted to the Cajun was a fair trade for... an ice christmas tree? What the hell.

"Little out of season, don't you think Iceboy?"

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Jean glanced out her bedroom window, watching Jubilee, Rahne, and Ray all leave the pool, grumbling slightly. She had noticed that a lot of the girls had been in poor spirits. When she had passed Amara's room, she'd seen that the sweet girl looked miserable. Jean had suggested she go out for a swim with the others and the Princess looked as though she might cry for a moment as she stared at her bikini. And Rouge was awful jumpy and absent and Kitty still hadn't come back from her walk.

Usually if one of the girls had a problem that was really bugging them, then they'd come to her. But lately she had been so caught up in her online summer college courses and her relationship with Scott, that she hadn't had anytime for them.

'Great, I'm a fantastic mentor,' Jean mentally kicked herself. The girls had seemed to be getting along okay without her for a while. Rahne and Jubilee had been thrilled to be back, and Amara was happy to have them back. But now something seemed to be bugging the three girls. And Jean knew Kitty always had Rouge or Kurt to talk to, they were always there for her and figured that the girl probably went out on a walk to be alone. Jean really felt that she had neglected Rouge though. The two girls never really saw eye to eye, but Rouge had really been coming around after Apocalypse. She was laughing more and acting not nearly as bitter.

'I never really thought about how hard it must be for her, not to be able to touch,' Jean thought as she gazed at the hand that had held Scott's.

Jean knew that it also must be a challenge to have Remy in the house now, with his flirting and enticing Rouge.

'My poor girls are falling apart,' Jean thought miserably.

Suddenly, Jean clutched her head and fell to her knees. Someone's frantic yelps of pain ran through Jean's head as she tried desperately to figure out who it was, and more importantly where they were.

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"Roberto, you practically turned the pool into a hot tub!" Jubilee complained as she, Rahne and Ray left the pool. Rahne and she picked their shorts and tank tops off the chairs, pulling them over their still wet bodies. They had thought that swimming would cool them off, but after Roberto, who was fully sunned up and blazing, had jumped in that plan had been ruined.

Grabbing her towel, Jubilee walked into the kitchen, pausing a moment to admire the random ice Christmas tree that stood in the corner before realizing who exactly it was from. She and Rahne took seats across from one another at the table.

"You know, once all this ice stuff melts, we're gonna drown," Rahne laughed. Jubilee nodded her agreement and tried to ignore the giant reminder of Bobby.

Rouge chuckled and turned towards them, holding two bowls full of fresh fruit.

"Rouge, that's seriously the perfect meal for today," Jubilee said happily as Rouge placed the bowls in front of where the girls sat.

Amara and Sam nodded their agreement as they came into the kitchen, trying to get past Roberto and Ray, who were pulling the pizza from the oven.

The kitchen began to fill up as Scott, Remy and Jamie entered also. Several people yelled at Jamie to get rid of his clones, the kitchen was crowded enough as it was.

Jubilee watched the former thief as he popped a strawberry in his mouth, his red eyes on Rouge. Jubilee smiled slightly, she really liked Rouge. She was edgy and honest, and Remy seemed like the perfect match for her. Of course there was the whole problem with not being able to touch but hey, what are X-Men if not problem solvers?

'They'd make the best looking southern couple ever,' Jubilee thought as Kurt bamfed in.

"Anyone seen Kitty?" He asked in a strained voice.

A chorus of no's and not lately' spread across the room and Kurt looked defeated.

"Yea, Jean and I passed her when we were driving," Scott offered, nearly slipping on water that was seeping from the ice tree. Kurt nodded and bamfed away again. Jubilee watched a droplet o water fall from the top as Bobby entered the room and demanded to know what the point of making these things for if everyone was gonna crowd around them and turn it into pond.

Jubilee began eating her fruit, which was basically her favorite food ever, next to gum of course, trying to push thoughts of Bobby out of her head.

In a breathtaking wave, new thoughts began to cloud her. Jubilee struggled to not choke on her melon as she focused on the mental message.

'Everyone, down to the Danger Room now!' Jean's frantic voice filled her ears. Everyone froze and looked at each other, Jean hardly ever panicked so whatever it was, it was an emergency. They all jumped to their feet and tried to fit through the kitchen door at the same time and only Jubilee and Rouge, after sharing a look of amusement, rushed out the nonexistent backdoor to get to the sub-level Danger Room quickly.

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It had taken her a few minutes to pin point where the yells were coming from, but Jean had finally found Kitty in the Danger Room.

Rushing from her room, she ricocheted off the chest of a confused Logan. She grabbed his hand and the two of them made it to the Danger Room in record time, only to fail to shut down the sim that Kitty was caught in. The words Invalid Code were flashing on the computer screen and Jean felt like ripping her hair out.

They stood in the console, watching with worried eyes as Kitty fought a robotic enemy while trying to dodge lasers.

"Logan, I've never seen this sim before! The professor would have never made one this difficult!" Jean said as Kitty phased the robot into the ground, securing it in place.

"It's not the professor's creation Red. Kitty and Storm created this one, and the damn thing's meant to be a team sim," Logan said gruffly, his face a cross between very pissed off and very worried. "And only they know the pass-code to shut the thing off."

"Storm will be here soon then, I sent a message for everyone to get here," Jean said, relief easing into her voice.

"No, she won't be. She, Beast and the professor left early this morning to take care of something that happened in Africa," Logan replied, tensing as Kitty dodged a laser firing robot and then delivered a roundhouse kick to it's chest.

It was obvious that the girl was hurt. Blood could be seen seeping from her neck and her knee looked crooked and distorted. Whenever she got a moment to breath she would clutch her ribs and shake slightly.

The console quickly filled with the called mutants, all of whom looked confused and then upon seeing Kitty and the mass destruction around her, concerned.

"What is she doing?" Scott demanded as everyone crowded around the glass.

"Can we get the door open?" Rahne asked quickly, her eyes following the movement of a giant ball that was trying to crush Kitty. Kitty jumped on top of it and phased it into the ground, but took a few laser hits while she was distracted.

"No, that door and this glass is totally impenetrable. After the whole room was almost melted by Amara and all the metal was bent by Sam, Beast and Forge made the thing damn near indestructible," Rouge shook her head.

Bobby turned to Logan.

"You're a teacher! Don't you have like an override code that can shut this down?"

Logan glared at the boy. "If I had a fucking magical fairy code to shut this off, don't you think I would have used it!"

"Jean, can't she phase out of the room?" Jubilee asked as a collection of gasps rose from the Jamies. Kitty had just managed to take out the wall lasers by phasing her self through them, but was now caught by a mechanical claw.

"I've tried telling her that but Kitty knows that she can leave this sim anytime, she just doesn't want to," Jean flinched as Kitty phased herself out of the claws grip but was to weak to phase to slow her fall. She ended up crashing onto her knees with an audible yell of pain.

"You mean she wants to be beaten into a pulp!" Roberto asked as Bobby iced up a small part of the glass and Jubilee, Remy and Amara were trying to break through.

"That won't work you guys!" Jean yelled in a frustrated voice as she entered Kitty's cell phone number into the code pad, hoping that that could be the code, only to have it rejected. Logan let out a growl and unsheathed his claws, ramming them into the console. This only resulted in making it rain and flood in the Danger Room. Kitty, who had been balancing on top of a wall, was taken by surprise and was shoot down by a few lasers, the rapidly rising water beginning to swallow her up.

"She's going to drown!" Rahne whimpered, going into full wolf form and scratching mercilessly at the glass.

An obvious idea occurred to Jean that made her want to hit her head off of the glass at her stupidity. Only Kurt and Kitty could manage to get in and out of the Danger Room when it was in lock down mode like this, and all they had to do was have Kurt port in there, grab her and port out.

Jean turned around, ready to yell at Kurt for not thinking of this sooner and also to scream at him to get his blue ass in there. However, as she scanned the crowd, it became clear that they were short one elf.

"WHERE THE FUCK IS KURT!" Jean screamed, losing her temper completely as her telekinesis made a chair smash into the wall. The frantic teens all jumped at the sound of Jean's furious voice, which was incredibly intimidating, especially as the metal room echoed back the repercussion.

"Kurt! Of course! Where the hell did he go?!" Sam said, his look going from scared shitless to enlightened and then to confused.

"I told him we saw Kitty on our drive, he's looking for her now," Scott said. "He must have been out of range when you sent the message."

"I'll have to find him and tell him to get here, I hope he's not too far away!" Jean said, placing her fingers on her head.

"Jean, find his furry ass fast!" Rouge said, alarm in her voice. "Or Kitty's going to be electrocuted!"

Kitty's face was all that could be seen of her, and dangerous sparks were flying from the disabled lasers as the water inched closer and closer.

"Jesus Christ," Scott mumbled. Jean began rubbing her temples, straining to locate Kurt. She was thankful that he had decided to walk to wherever he was going instead of porting, as porting would have made it damn near impossible to get a hold of him. She found him a couple miles from the mansion, his mood slightly sour. Not waiting for him to reply, Jean sent him a message that summed up what was happening at the mansion. Jean heard Kurt let out a mental stream of German curses before she lost him, knowing that he was porting.

"He's on his way," Jean said to the assembled group, Ray and Amara kneeling in front of the console trying to cut off the electricity but only resulted in being shocked, until finally Ray decided to just absorb the electricity into himself, his eyes now glowing an electrical white.

Sure enough a cloud of smoke surrounded Kitty and she was snatched from the ground. The two disappeared and the group let out a sigh.

"They must be heading to the medical wing," Scott said as Logan shoved past the teens and out the door.

"I'm gonna kick her ass! How dare she worry us like that!" Rouge yelled, heading after Logan.

"Calm down, Chere," Remy said following after her. The crowd of teens were now filing out of the room, their faces a mixture of relief and anger.

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Kitty felt wet fur against her cheek and wondered vaguely if all angels were fuzzy. After Pietro had gotten her home and then sped away, Kitty had decided to cover up her bruises and injuries with faking a Danger Room session, and then acting as though she had gotten her ass kicked by the sim. But after spending a few minutes in there, the strain and pull of her muscles and injuries began to feel good, and Kitty lost herself in the fight, feeling justification in the pain and beating that her body took.

Thick fingers pushed her wet hair from her face and neck, revealing the cut that was now quite sticky.

"Schiesse," a voice mumbled and Kitty felt the soothing sting of a warm washcloth.

Kitty took a deep breath, the air around her cold and metallic. Forcing herself to open her eyes, her view was met with the hospital wing ceiling adn the bright fluorescent lights. A sting on her inner thigh reveled to her that in all the chaos she had received yet another cut.

'Great,' she thought dully. 'I didn't die.'

The fingers were now pulling up her shirt and the same voice let out a low growl at what Kitty assumed was the site of her battered and swollen side.

"Liebes, you really can be dumb sometimes."

That's all Kitty had to hear. Sitting up too quickly for her ribs too handle, Kitty gasped and clutched at them, glaring at Kurt who had been standing over her. Kitty felt unreasonable anger toward her friend as the shame of today's events came back to her. First, she had watched him in the arms of Amanda, then she was attacked by fucking Lance. And she was rescued by Pietro and then by Kurt. More then she could handle, and it was barely past twelve thirty.

She tried to get off of the bed, but was forced to sit down, as her knee and ribs prevented any sudden movements.

Kurt moved to sit next to her and tried to place a hand on her shoulder, only to have it go right through her. He opened his mouth to say something, but Kitty's fierce look cut him off.

"Thanks for saving me, now leave me alone," Kitty said, her eyes falling on her banged up knee. It was very puffy and swollen, and the skin changed from purple to green to blue. She couldn't bear the feeling of him sitting next to her and she commanded her body to stand. Staggering, Kitty fell forward and a rush of anger and shame flooded through her. She had never felt more weak then she had today and she felt tears sting at her eyes.

"Kitty," Kurt said gently, trying to help her up but found that she was intangible.

Kitty knew that if she felt Kurt's fur one more time, then she would surely break down into tears. She had to convince herself that she didn't need him. That she could survive and live without him. Not needing him was the first step to not wanting him. She had to come to terms with the fact that she had her chance but let it go by and now Kurt could only ever love her as a person to fight alongside with, a person to confide in, only ever a friend. Kitty dug this into herself, forcing herself to recognize the truth of it all, even though it tore her to shreds inside. She knew that without him she would never be whole again, that before him she never had been. And that for a short time, Kurt had sated her need, only to have her need grow more. She would have to pick up the pieces, abandon any idea of asking Kurt if it was to late for them, if it was too late for him to love her. It was too late. Now Kitty was left with a shattered mirror and with the knowledge that all the happiness in the world would have been hers, but she was far too late. Kurt had fallen in love without her, and then he had fallen in love not with her at all. Kitty swallowed all of this knowledge, pushing it into her heart and prayed that she wouldn't sob. She managed well, letting only a single tear fall.

Kurt sank down to his knees in front of Kitty.

"Let me help you," He pleaded softly, moving his hand to wipe away her tear but Kitty lifted up her hand in a motion for him to stop.

Kitty gazed into the yellow eyes she loved so dearly and shook her head, preparing herself to get up. Kurt tried once more to help, but found Kitty still opposed to his help and in her phased state.

"Katzchen, stop that!" He said in a pained and angry voice as he watched Kitty struggle to her feet.

"Kurt, seriously just go. I'm sorry I worried you, but I'm fine now, so don't waste your time," She said slowly, leaning against the wall for support, her back to him.

"Stop being stubborn Katherine. You're not fine and I want to help you," Kurt practically yelled, taking a step forward and turning her to face him, figuring that she was to weak to phase anymore.

Kitty narrowed her eyes. Again Kurt was talking to her in that condescending tone, adding insult to injury.

"And I don't want your help," she said darkly, knowing that if she couldn't have him all the way in, then she would have to push him all the way out. The door swung open and the residents of the house spilled in, looking quite like a deranged mob. Kitty was glad that they'd left their pitchforks and torches in their rooms.

"Kitty! Are you daft lass!"

"You never go into a Danger Room session without a partner!"

"Chaton, are you alright?"

"I thought Bobby and Ray were the only ones with hollow heads!"

"You better hope I don't kill you in your sleep tonight sugah!"

"What are you doing out of bed?! Get back in there before I have to use my telekinesis on you!"

"Do you need an ice pack? I can run and get you an ice pack.."

"Just make her an ice pack you idiot!"

"Oh, right..."

Kitty saw the hurt in Kurt's eyes and a twinge of regret pulled at her heart. Slowly he turned away from her and ported out, leaving the crowd of people who were making their ways toward Kitty confused for a moment.

"Half Pint!" Logan's growl made Kitty flinch. "Never again!" He pushed his way through the crowd and helped Kitty to the bed as Jean ran around, trying to collect everything she would need to patch Kitty up.

Jean examined Kitty's ribs and clucked her tongue.

"One of the those robots must have gotten you good," Jean mumbled as Kitty flinched from her touch.

'Sure, a robot did this...' Kitty thought as people crowded the bed, some of them still scolding her foolishness as others expressed their concern.

"All the guys out now, I have to wrap her ribs and take care of a cut she has one her inner thigh. So shoo, she's in good hands," Jean said to the male group.

They all grumbled slightly and told Kitty to feel better as she apologized for worrying them. Logan stopped in front of Kitty.

"We'll talk later Half Pint."

Once the door slid shut the girls practically pounced on her.

"Does it hurt much?" Jubilee asked as she helped Jean take off her shirt. They cringed when they saw her side.

"No," Kitty lied stiffly. Upon seeing their skeptical looks she broke down. "Yea,"  Kitty answered, remembering when she was younger and how her mom would take care of her if she was sick.

"What were you thinking?" Amara asked gently, holding her hand.

Under the caring eyes of her friends Kitty finally relented and allowed herself to cry, all the hurt and pain from the events of today wearing on her. Her ribs protested the sobs, but Kitty couldn't stop and didn't want to either. She was tired and broken, and crying seemed like the only thing Kitty could do at the moment. As her Opa always said, you cry and sniffle and sob and then you get on with your life.

Her five friends all recognized these tears of being out of emotional hurt, not because of the beating she had taken. They cuddled around her and tried to calm her down.

"I," Kitty choked out. "Don't know what I was thinking."

"It's okay KitKat, we'll work this out. Whatever's wrong, we'll talk about it," Rouge said in her rarely used sweet and caring voice, saved only for little children, lost pets and hurt friends.

Jean looked at her younger friends. Amara, who had been reclusive all day, was holding Kitty's hand, tenderly stroking the small fingers as if she were petting a cat. Next to her was Jubilee, who had been acting distracted and on edge ever since she got back, her hands smoothing back Kitty's hair. Rahne, who had been extremely quiet lately, was offering comforting words, trying to settle Kitty down. Rouge was handing Kitty tissues, and Jean was sure her inner thoughts were in complete disarray now that Remy had decided to move in.

"That's it girls," Jean announced as she put her arms around Amara and Rahne.

"It's sleepover time."


	6. What girls actually do at sleepovers

Kurt glanced at the washcloth he had in his hand. Streaks of red stained the white cloth and reminded Kurt of the angry scarlet cut on Kitty's neck. He wanted nothing more then to go down to the hospital wing and take care of her, ask her why she had done that. However, after rescuing her, he had found out that she wanted none of it. And definitely didn't want him around. Kurt was upset that Kitty had rejected him as she did, usually after a danger room session they'd end up patching each other up, caring for each other gently. Kurt knew every scar and mark on her body, at least all the ones in appropriate places. She was the most beautiful map, with valleys and mountains, dusted with the marks of battle, all reminders of how terrible the world can be. She had less then any of the other mutants due to her protective ability of phasing, but there were still scars of when she had exhausted her phasing. None could take away from her beauty, the ugly scars of the past graced her body, made Kurt love her more.

Sighing he dropped the cloth into his wash basket and left the bathroom to find the guys crowded into the kitchen, finishing their interrupted lunch.

"I don't get it," Bobby was saying as he spooned some fruit into his bowl. "Why didn't she just phase out of there?"

"She wanted to fight," Scott answered simply, carefully taking off his glasses to wipe a smudge off them. All the guys tensed up a second, Scott in the kitchen was fast becoming a dangerous scenario.

"And damn was she fighting. That sim looked really difficult," Roberto said with his mouth full.

Remy was sipping on a bottle water, shaking his head slowly. "I can understand if she was working off a little bit of steam and got slightly injured, but that just now wasn't exercising off stress, it was something more."

"I think she went temporarily nuts when she decided to do that. Both she and Jean put way too much pressure on themselves sometimes, and that cannot be healthy," Ray replied, shaking his head and snatching the last piece of pizza away from Roberto.

"Was she trying to prove that she could handle a level ten Danger Room session? I mean, Kitty doesn't need to prove herself to us," Sam suggested, picking the watermelon out of his fruit filled bowl as Jamie snatched up the unwanted pieces.

"Nein, she wasn''t trying to prove herself. She was trying get herself hurt," Kurt said gruffly as he took a seat.

The guys eyed him skeptically.

"C'mon dude, the cat's not like that, no matter how much stress she's under," Ray said, shaking his head disbelievingly.

"But there is more to it then Kitty simply setting a sim in the Danger Room too high," Scott said slowly.

The boys thought on this for second, trying to think of what would possibly prompt Kitty to do something like that.

Kurt felt a sinking in his heart. There were hardly any secrets that Kitty and Kurt didn't know about each other, but after the way Kitty treated him in the medical wing, he was sure that she was keeping something from him. Kurt's inner musings were interrupted as Jean came into the kitchen.

"How is she?"Jamie asked quickly.

Jean sighed and levitated an apple into her hand.

"She'll be fine. She has a concussion, bruised ribs, and her knee's pretty banged up. But other then that, she's okay. She might have slight scarring from a cut on her neck and another on her inner thing, but they don't need stitches, thank god cause I'd probably butcher the job and there's no Mr. McCoy to do it. She's getting her ear chewed off right now by Logan," Jean said, walking to the sink to wash her apple.

"Ouch, that could more painful then the sim," Bobby said as the guys nodded in agreement.

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Kitty flinched as she put a little weight on her knee. She felt much better after getting a good seven hour sleep and was determined to get out of the hospital wing and up to her room so she could help set up for the sleepover.

Kitty took a few steps gingerly and was pleased when she managed to walk with only a hopping limp, though she knew a good portion of the reason was because Logan had given her a couple pain killers after he thoroughly expressed his discontent at her.

He had left the room after ruffling her hair and telling her to never worry him like that again and that he'd found a grey hair on his head from worrying about his girls.

Slowly, Kitty made her way back to her room. She was happy to find it filled with pillows and bowls of food. A well stocked cooler sat underneath the open window and music was flowing from her and Rouge's stereo.

"Hey girly! Feeling better?" Kitty turned around to see Amara and Rahne in robes, both fanning themselves lightly, their skin slightly flushed.

"Yea much," Kitty smiled happily as a giddy feeling seeped into her stomach. She truly loved her girls, and knowing that tonight she could let down all her walls and talk to them made her feel incredibly safe. 'God I can be such a girl,' Kitty thought happily.

The three other girls came in, all wearing robes. Upon closer inspection she noticed that none of them were wearing their normal pajamas, but some only had on a bra and underwear set as others had on silk teddy's.

"Whoa, since when was it sexy sleepover night?" Kitty asked as she began pulling out her own cutest bra and underwear set.

"Since the temperature decided to rise to unbelievable hot heights," Rouge answered as the others nodded.

Kitty giggled and left for the bathroom.

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"A sleepover?" Remy asked the guys as they all (minus Jamie who was absorbed in a power rangers marathon) headed for the security room. He had never heard of people who lived in the same house having a sleepover. Girls could be so odd sometimes.

"Yep, and we're so spying on them!" Bobby said as a happy glint came to his eyes. The professor, Hank and Storm were still away in Africa and Logan had been called away on an emergency catch and detain mission with the SWAT team to attain an out of control and grieving Hulk, his brother just having been murdered in a local hold up. The boys kept looking over their shoulders, waiting for Logan to jump out of nowhere and castrate them all for spying on the girls he viewed as his daughters. Even from hundreds of miles away, Logan still made an impressive, and frightening, impact on the boys thoughts. That man knew how to get in their heads better then the professor did.

"We're supervising, not spying!" Scott said from his chair in front of the computer. After typing for awhile, the largest screen in the room flickered to life before showing Kitty and Rouge's room, the place looking very fluffy and comfy from the hoards of pillows everywhere.

The boys quickly found their seats as Ray and Sam came in, holding bottles of soda, bags of chips and three pizzas. Kurt was muttering slightly that what they were doing was totally unethical, but he had finally agreed to join them when Sam pointed out that the girls would probably talk about what was up with Kitty.

"Volume Summers, while watching them is nice, I'd like to hear them too," Roberto said as he munched on popcorn.

The girls came onto the screen, all six of them giggling. The guys admired the view for a moment. Jean wore a short emerald green robe that barely came to her thighs. Rouge had on a long black robe that was falling open at her chest, revealing her cleavage to all. Amara was wearing noticeably expensive robes that she probably got during her royal reign on her home island. They were a crimson red and had a golden threaded _A _on the right breast. Jubilee was wearing a knee length yellow robe and Kitty was wearing a silk white robe that was similar in length to Jeans. Rahne was wearing an incredibly comfortable looking plaid robe that had short sleeves.

The guys turned and smirked at one another.

"We are lucky men, my friends. Very lucky," Bobby said as the guys nodded their agreement.

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"Okay, what should we do first?" Jubilee asked as she lounged her back against Rouges bed.

The girls were assembled in a circle and soft rock music created a good background mood.

"Play blast!" Rahne said, her copper hair down from the usual buns. The shoulder length hair was slightly wavy and Rahne kept pushing it behind her ears.

Rouge turned to her. "Blast? What's that?"

"You give a girl a guy, and then the girl says a sentence that would shock him," Rahne responded as the girls giggled.

"Okay, who's first?" Kitty asked, still a little loopy from the pills Logan gave her.

"Oldest first, Jean," Jubilee said and the girls nodded.

"And of course, you're guy is Scott," Rahne said.

Jean though for a moment before cracking up, a blush on her cheeks.

"No I can't, it's too bad..." She sputtered out, obviously mortified by her own thoughts.

"Jean!" The girls called out.

"Okay, okay.." Jean cleared her throat and flipped back her hair. A sexy smirk came across her face and she said in a husky voice, "I've read your mind, and I know you want a spanking from me." (Please see A/N at the end of the chapter)

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"DUDE! Is that true?" Ray gasped out as the guys broke out into a fit of laughter.

Scott's face was turning a color that was almost as red as his glasses.

"Oh my god! It is true!" Sam blurted as he clutched his sides.

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The girls recovered from their laughter, all agreeing that Scott seemed like the submissive type. Someone that anal had to let a little steam off somehow and it might as well be in a fun way.

"Rouge, your turn!" Rahne said, grabbing a soda from the cooler.

"Who's my guy? And don't you sickos dare pick Kurt!"

Jubilee smiled, remembering her thoughts on Remy and Rouge.

She and Kitty exchanged glances before saying, "Remy." in unison.

"Course you'd pick that rat.." Rouge thought for a second and smiled.

"Alright, here's what I would say to him. Come over here and give me some of your Cajun spice, this is the latex age ya know!"

Rahne gagged on her drink and began choking as the other girls absolutely rolled.

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On the other side of the screen, the guys faces were a mixture of awe and amusement, or in Kurt's case, repulsion.

Remy however, was actually doing a little dance, it was like a very messed up version of the moonwalk combined with Barney on LSD. Dancing was never the Ragin' Cajun's forte.

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"Not like he'll ever get that chance," Rouge said warningly as the girls were still gasping for air.

"That one, was good," Amara complimented, picking up the chips she had knocked over during her hyena like outburst.

All eyes fell on Kitty and she sighed.

"Okay, who's my guy?"

Rahne spoke first, "Ray."

Kitty smiled and obviously had had a comment ready.

She licked her lips and raised an eyebrow.

"Think you know how to make a Kitty purr?"

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The surveillance room erupted in catcalls.

"Yea right, Ray could never get her to purr!" Bobby accused as Ray punched his shoulder.

" I think only a certain blue guy could get that reaction out of her," Remy said slyly as all eyes fell on the blushing elf.

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The girls were wiping tears away from their eyes and trying to settle down.

'Okay Jube's you're up, and I say Bobby," Kitty said, still smiling from her last crack. The others nodded their agreement and looked at Jubilee expectantly.

Jubilee blushed a moment before cracking a smile.

"Let's see if I can warm you up, Iceman."

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Bobby's eyes flared with a lustful glint.

"oh you can warm me up anytime sweet Jubilee."

"Dude, stop drooling!" Roberto said, pushing Bobby away from the food.

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Jean had accidently levitated a few pillows from laughing so hard. She looked at the younger girls and shook her head.

"We're so dirty!"

"I know! It's great!" Kitty said as she and Amara leaned on one other for support.

"Amara, you're up chica!" Jubilee called happily.

"And Sam is your guy!" Rahne said, tossing a pillow at Amara.

"You guys, I've lived a very sheltered life most of my fifteen years. But that doesn't mean I don't want to give Sam some royal treatment," Amara said with seduction dripping off her words.

The girls hardly ever heard Amara act as such but recovered from their shock.

"Amara!" Rouge gasped. "You dirty, dirty girl!"

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Sam couldn't believe his ears. Amara had to have been joking. A girl like her would never want a farm boy like him...

A harsh clap on his back from Scott brought him back as the others were literally chortling at his expression. Remy and Scott were shaking their heads, obviously disturbed that girls that young could think of so many perverse things.

"Maybe you can loosen the royal princess up a bit," Roberto suggested with a wink.

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Amara was blushing as the girls settled themselves.

Rouge began massaging her jaw. "Oh my, I haven't smiled this much in a long, long time."

"Rahne, it all comes down to you," Jean said, tipping the neck of her root beer bottle toward the Scottish girl.

"My guy?" She asked, clearly loving this game.

"Let's see... there's still Roberto, Kurt, Jamie, Logan, Mr. McCoy and the Professor.." Jubilee said ticking off the guys on her fingers, shuddering as she spoke the last four names.

"We are like so not including Jamie!" Kitty said quickly as the girls all nodded their agreement.

"Or the professor, Logan, and Beast," Jean included.

"I think Roberto for you, we all want to see him shocked," Amara said, giggling.

"Okay lassies, how about this? With all your big talk, you better have something big to back it up!"

All the girls hooted in agreement, Jubilee gasping for air as tears streamed down Jean's beat red face.

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Roberto was muttering angrily that he didn't talk _that _big. The guys around him were gasping and choking like fish out of water.

Scott and Remy were clutching each other to keep from falling, both momentarily forgetting their dislike for one another out of the need for support, and Bobby and Sam had already collapsed into convulsing laughter. Kurt had his head stuck in the cooler, his laughs echoing off the plastic walls as Ray tried to stay in his chair.

Roberto glared at them.

"Hey man, you do have an awful big ego," Bobby said from the floor.

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Kitty recovered and was rubbing her bruised ribs, still spurting over Rahne's remark.

"Okay, that just leaves the blue man," Jubilee said.

"Nothing to gross, he's still my brother!" Rouge warned.

"Oh that's no fun, just plug your ears!" Rahne said, giggling at Rouge's disgusted face.

"Yea Rouge, cause the stuff I'm gonna say may scar you for life!" Kitty warned, a blush on her cheeks as she thought of her friend. She may have ruined her relationship with him, but she could still admire his physique.

"Oh really?" Jean asked with a raised eyebrow. The girls quieted down and looked at Kitty.

"Please, do go on," Jubilee said, urging Kitty with a nudge from her foot.

"Oh come on, you all know that Kurt's one hunky elf," Kitty said, her eyes glassy a bit.

The other girls, except Rouge who had her fingers shoved in her eyes and humming loudly, all agreed. But Kitty wasn't done yet.

"I mean that fur is incredible, it's like a perfect mix between satin, suede, silk, and cashmere," Kitty said, a happy smile coming across her face as she thought about Kurt's fur.

Jubilee giggled and leaned over to Jean. "I think Logan's pain killers have made Kitty's tongue a bit loose." The older girl nodded.

Kitty laughed when she heard this and shook her head.

"I'm totally serious! I mean, no one can make dark blue hotter the Kurt can. And he's so flexible...and oh my god that tail. Do any of you know how strong that tail is? I bet it could do wonders..." Kitty mused dreamily, her eyes shutting at the mere thought of it.

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Kurt was frozen. Kitty found him attractive? No, not only attractive, but sexy?! This wasn't possible... But according to the whistling and hooting of all his friends, it was very possible. The hurt and rejection he had felt earlier from Kitty's cold and distant treatment was momentarily forgotten.

"Damn Fuzzy man, the girls are all over you!" Bobby called out as the other guys agreed.

Kurt's heart fluttered as his neck and cheeks grew incredibly hot.

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The girls (minus Rouge who was still trying to ignore them) were all caught up dreaming about tails.

"Oh dear lord," Jubilee said. "A romp session with Kurt's endurance and agility would be incredible, but throw a tail into the mix and..." She sighed at the thought.

"It would be mind-blowing," Kitty finished for her, a sultry smirk on her blushed face.

"And those ears. They're cuter then me own ears when I'm in wolf form!" Rahne threw in as Amara nodded.

Rouge gave them all one more disgusted look before burying her head under a pillow.

"And we cannot forget the fangs," Kitty added, her voice hitching a bit.

Jean giggled and nodded. "They are nice to look at, but don't you think they'd hurt if he accidently bit you?"

Amara clucked her tongue and threw a pillow at Jean. "Look who's talking, you want to spank your man!"

"Besides," Kitty replied, her right eyebrow raised. "Getting bitten is the whole idea."

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The guy's jaws hit the ground. Kitty Pryde, sweet and innocent little Kitty Pryde, had a kinky side! A kinky side that involved pain?!

Kurt was going to have a heart attack. That girl would surely be the death of him, he just knew it.

"Did- did I just hear that right?" Remy demanded, not believing that angelic Kitty could be capable of such things. Rouge he could see being into that, and oh dear lord he prayed that she was. Remy could even see Miss control freak Jean Grey liking to submit to pain, and maybe even Rahne letting her own wolf side take over. But Kitty, who Remy was fairly sure would break in half if she ever did have sex, was the last person he suspected.

Remy summed up all the guys thoughts the best. "Mon Diue."

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The girls were almost just as speechless.

"Kitty!" Amara gasped.

"Wow, I really would have never suspected," Jean managed to choke out of her tight throat.

Kitty was blushing and shrugged her shoulders.

"Okay, it's like my weakness," she muttered.

"So you like being bitten?" Jubilee asked, her tone curious.

Kitty flushed a bit more and nodded. "Oh god yes, it's the best. There's something so feral and raw about it, you know."

Rahne laughed and nodded her head, "Trust me, I know what you mean."

Jubilee smiled for a moment and snapped her fingers. "Is that why you're always biting your bottom lip?" Kitty nodded bashfully.

Rouge emerged from her pillows and shrugged her shoulders casually. "Everyone has something that they're kinky about."

All the girls nodded in agreement.

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The boys all glanced at each other, surprised looks on their faces. Now the girls were going to talk about what turned them on the most?!

"What-" Sam stuttered a little. "What happened to our prim and proper ladies?"

"Yea, the girls I know would never let on that they get horny sometimes, let alone that they have a fetish!" Roberto agreed, his look a mix between bemusement and thrilled.

"I think that the girls are done being ladies for the night," Scott said, shaking his head slowly.

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"So Jean, what kinky thing do you like?" Jubilee asked, dodging a mind thrown pillow.

Jean blushed and cleared her throat. "I like to scratch," She mumbled quietly as the girls broke down into giggles once more.

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Scott had to smile slightly as this. Oh yes indeed Jean liked to scratch.

"Really?" Remy asked him curiously.

Scott nodded and turned to face the guys who were looking expectantly at him.

"I still have the scars."

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"Damn girl! You are a sadist!" Rouge said as the others wholeheartedly agreed.

"What about you Jubes?" Rahne asked the asian girl.

"Well, you all know that I live for excitement and danger," she started as the girls around her nodded. "And what's more exciting then hooking up in public places?"

Amara paled at this. "You mean, like have sex in movie theaters and dressing rooms?"

Jubilee nodded. "Yea, but not the sex part. Just making out and stuff like that. It's so much better when you know you could get caught," She said as a wicked glint came to her eyes. She turned to Rahne.

"Your turn now."

Rahne shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, I've never been kissed actually."

Rouge smiled slightly and placed a hand Rahne's robed shoulder. "No big deal. I've only ever kissed one guy, and he passed out afterwards."

The girls smiled at the sad hilarity of it all.

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Remy's knees weakened a little. He was Rouge's first kiss?

"These girls have hardly been kissed and they're talking like this?" Ray demanded unbelievingly.

"You know, we're always hearing so much crap about how much more perverted guys then girls. That is now officially bullshit," Sam said firmly, crossing his arms.

"What is the world coming too!" Kurt gasped as he shook his head.

Bobby placed his arms around the two boys shoulders, a perverted smile on his face.

"Something beautiful my friends, something very beautiful." He nodded to the screen and the boys jaws dropped again. The girls were now taking off their robes, revealing a magnificent site.

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"It is like so hot!" Kitty grumbled as she stood up to shed her robe. All the other girls nodded and agreed. Jean took off her robe to reveal a green silk teddy which was inappropriately short. It came down in a V, showing some of her chest. Amara sat in a gold colored tank top and boy shorts, crossing her shapely legs as she stretched out on her stomach. Jubilee chucked her yellow robe over her shoulder and was clad only in her purple and pink polka dotted bra and underwear set as Rahne stripped down to he undergarments too, her's being a leopard print. Rouge was wearing a black teddy and Kitty passed her her silk elbow high gloves. Kitty tugged at the belt off her robe and let it fall to her feet, revealing a black lace set.

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The guy's felt guilt buried below their lust. Deeply buried. Their eyes admired the girls form one by one. Jean's tall and shapely body looked fantastic as she leaned back against the pillows. Amara was laying on her stomach, letting the guys have a perfect view of her firm backside and arched back. Rouge pulled on her gloves, her creamy skin in perfect contrast to the black of her teddy. The generous swell of her breasts could easily be seen and her muscular thighs glistened slightly with sweat (Kurt kept yelling at the guys to not look at his sister like that). Jubilee's toned body was now sprawled out on one of the beds, her chest rising and falling with each breath. Rahne was a smaller version of the shapely Jean, her own curves melding into one another nicely. Kitty's own body had some curves as her tiny waist tampered out into her small hips. Her chest had finally gone up a size and Kitty was now officially a firm and perky B cup. She had worked out relentlessly to make her legs go from chicken sticks to firm, though still rather miniature, ass kickers.

"So Scott, still think we're supervising?" Roberto asked as he took in the girls. Their fearless leader blushed a little and muttered about their morals being dead a long time ago.

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"That feels so much better," Rahne sighed happily.

"Leopard Rahne? Doesn't that go against the whole wolf thing?" Rouge asked, gesturing towards Rahne's choice in undergarments.

"I like to mix it up a bit. Besides, my underwear drawer was raided by Jamie's soon to be dead ferret," Rahne answered, scowling at the end of the sentence.

Jean glanced over at a very quiet Amara.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" She asked as everyone turned toward her.

Amara shrugged and began to blush. "It's nothing, really."

Kitty sighed and placed an arm around her.

"The whole point of tonight was to cheer each other up, we just let our perverted minds distract us for awhile."

Jubilee nodded and scooted closer to Amara.

"Yea, whatever it is, you can tell us."

Amara looked at her friends once more before starting to tell them.

"It's just that, sometimes when I look at myself in the mirror I hate what I see. I mean, you're all so beautiful, and I'm just blah, ya know?" She said in a quiet voice.

The girls exchanged an incredulous look, not believing that the beautiful Noma Roma princess felt that way.

"Amara, what are you talking about?" Rouge asked.

"You're seriously so beautiful," Rahne added as the girls nodded in agreement.

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The guys all felt the same way. All their girls were beautiful and to think that even one of them could doubt their looks seemed ridiculous to them.

"Is she blind?" Sam asked, a pure look of confusion on his face. Amara was gorgeous, and her smile always brightened his day. Sam was surprised to find that he was actually hurt by Amara thinking so poorly about herself. He knew that she could be a bit stuck up at times, but come on, she was raised as a princess. Besides, she had an absolute heart of gold.

Remy sighed and shook his head. "All the girls are like this. They are very sensitive, and self confidence is a rare thing. Silly femme."

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"I know I'm being dumb, but you all look like you came from a magazine," Amara sighed.

"Babe, I'd do anything for your ass," Jubilee said in all honesty, motioning toward her own flat backside.

"And you have the prettiest skin. It's seriously always glowing and looks so golden," Kitty cooed in an envious tone.

All the girls started practically drowning Amara in compliments and soon enough the girl was smiling again, and then looked at Jubilee and Rahne.

"You know, it's really great to have you two back," She smiled at them.

They both returned her smile, but seemed a little distant.

"Yea, it is. But something seems to be up with you guys..." Jean said insightfully.

The girls shrugged their shoulders and looked a little crestfallen. Rahne nudged Jubilee with her foot.

"You're talking first Lass."

Jubilee began to fiddle with her hair before letting down her defenses.

"I'm so happy to be back, I just felt empty when I was gone and I missed you all so much. But once I got back, things started getting weird between Bobby and me. I don't know how to explain it, I mean he's not really doing anything wrong, in fact he's treating me like I had never left in the first place. And for some reason that's bothering me," Jubilee explained as best as she could.

The girls exchanged a knowing look that made Jubilee a little nervous.

"What?" Her gazed flickered to the eyes around her. Green, to olive green, to a crystal blue, to warm brown, to a deep forest green.

"I think your time away from here made you realize that you may want something more between you and the ice cube, though heavens only knows why," Amara suggested as the others nodded their head.

Jubilee reflected for a moment. Could it be that simple? Could her sudden impatience and annoyance at Bobby be explained as a crush?

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Bobby blinked a few times. Jubilee, a girl that he used to regard as one of the guys, was now looking incredibly good to him. Had he always thought of her like this, but was too thick to realize? That would explain a lot, like why Bobby had pretty much lost his joking attitude after Jubilee left. He had assumed it was because his partner in crime, Jubilation Lee, had been taken away. Could it be that Bobby had lost his spirit because the girl of his dreams, Jubilation Lee, wasn't there to make him smile?

"You know Bobby, I always thought that you and Jubes would make a good couple," Roberto said as the others nodded their agreement.

Bobby tensed a little and shook his head.

"No way does Jube like me, something else is probably bothering her."

The guys exchanged glances and rolled their eyes.

"Sure Bobby, whatever you say," Kurt said as they turned back to the screen.

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The girls had now turned to Rahne, who shrugged her shoulders as they asked her what was up.

"What's bugging me isn't really something you can help me with, unless you can make mutants and humans all get along," Rahne sighed.

The girls nodded. They all knew the helpless feeling whenever they reflected on what would happen.

"No, you're right Rahne. We can't do anything for you, except promise to always be there for you," Jubilee said, looking Rahne in the eye.

"And always be beside you during the fight," Amara chimed in, reaching out to hold Rahne's hand.

Rouge placed a gloved clad hand on her knee and squeezed gently. "Whatever happens, you'll always know we're with you, even if not physically."

Kitty nodded and smiled. "We're a family, a very screwed up and dysfunctional one, but a family none the less."

Jean admired the girls for a second, and almost felt like crying. "Yea, a family."

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The guys weren't sure whether or not to roll their eyes at this display or grab their neighbor for a hug. They shifted uncomfortable from foot to foot, avoiding one another's glances.

Scott broke the silence first. "I've never seen people go from horny and perverted to serious and all sisterly so quickly."

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Rahne was amazed at how much better she felt. A few comforting words and suddenly she was sure that everything, no matter how terrible it may seem, would turn out alright, simply because Rahne had people around her who loved her.

The gaggle of gals were now trying to force Rouge to open up to them.

Rouge shook her head and insisted that nothing the girls could say would change the simple fact that she couldn't touch.

"I'm usually okay with it I guess, but sometimes I let it get to me, even though I know that that's not the solution," Rouge explained, pulling at her gloves.

"I know you were joking earlier, but you're right, it is the latex age, and if you're careful then I'm sure it's doable. You know, being with someone," Jubilee suggested.

Rouge nodded slowly. "It probably is. But to never feel the guy's skin or lips would still leave me empty, you know?"

The girls nodded sadly, at a loss of how to comfort their friend. Rouge offered them a genuine smile.

"I know it sucks, but that's the way it is," Rouge said.

"For now it is, but that could change Rouge," Amara said hopefully, her heart aching for Rouge.

"Yea, weirder things have happened then a mutation changing. I should know, I can change into a wolf," Rahne laughed.

Kitty nodded, "You can still be with someone Rouge, don't make it worse be forcing yourself to be alone."

Rouge forced another smile. "We'll see. I've always wanted to simply sleep beside someone."

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Remy watched the exchange between the girls closely. He wanted Rouge, and questioned for a moment if he only wanted Rouge because having her, truly and fully having her, was impossible? Maybe he pursued her because it was a challenge that could never be resolved, a game that would never end, and both of them would end up as the losers. Remy was sure that this was a part of the attraction, but when he saw Rouge's smile, he knew he wanted her to be his. Even if that meant an abstinence pledge on his part, just to make Rouge smile, or even get angry at him, was Remy's want. No, his need. This ache that suddenly caught fire around Rouge was a need. And nothing would make him happier. With a realization that was like a punch in one of his red on black eyes, Remy knew he needed Rouge not because he couldn't have her, but because without her all beauty was lost to him.

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"You know, I made the mistake of sleeping with Kurt-" Whatever Kitty was about to say was cut off by yells of shock on both sides of the screen.

"You WHAT!" Jean gasped as Rouge kept gagging.

"With my brother!"

"Oh my god! How was it?" Jubilee demanded as Amara and Rahne tried to recover from the shock.

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The surveillance room had erupted in absolute chaos. Ray and Roberto were attempting to high five Kurt, who was trying to settle down a pissed of Scott. Bobby and Sam kept asking how it was and if Kitty was as flexible as she seemed, which in turn earned glares from Remy, who kept shaking his head at their lack of respect.

"No wonder she's upset! You slept with her and then acted like it didn't matter! I thought you cared more about her then to just use her!" Scott fumed.

"I didn't sleep with her! She meant sleep in the same bed you perverts!"

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"I didn't sleep with him! I meant sleep in the same bed you perverts!" Kitty yelled over the ruckus and thrown chips.

"Jesus Pryde, shock us why don't ya," Jubilee sighed as Rouge continually shook her head to rid herself of mental images.

"Why was it a mistake to sleep next to Kurt?" Amara asked, grabbing nailpolish, which Rahne took from her and began painting Amara's right had.

"Now it takes me forever to fall asleep when I'm alone. Sleeping in his arms makes everything feel so right, and like nothing can go wrong. And then without him, I fall asleep feeling so lost," Kitty replied, stretching her arms over her head. She reminded herself that never again could she allow herself the comfort of Kurt's embrace, that having him hold her light her heart up with a thousand promises, promises that will never be kept or even realized. And Kitty couldn't bear to deceive herself any longer. She had put up with this facade of only friendship for as long as she could, but the lie she was telling was wearing thin on her, and Kitty had to save the last bit of her friendship with Kurt before she hurt herself so much, that she couldn't even stand being near him. Having only a little part of Kurt was still better then having no part of him, even though it hurt more then living her life without him in it.

"Hey, you're not alone. You share a damn room with me!" Rouge said defensively.

"Oh yea, like I'm gonna snuggle up next to you. You'd kick my ass so far out of that bed that I'd end up on the roof!" Kitty said as Rouge laughed and nodded her head in agreement.

"It is a nice feeling sleeping next to someone," Jean said in a half dazed voice, a small smile playing at the corners of her lips.

"Sweetheart, I think what you're thinking about is sleeping with someone," Jubilee giggled as the girls nodded their agreement.

"Well Scott, you must be doing something right," Remy said approvingly as Jean blushed slightly.

"How could he go wrong? He's with a telepath, must be hard to screw that one up!" Ray laughed as Scott chucked an empty bottle at him.

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Kitty sighed contently and leaned back on her pillow. The still fresh cuts on her neck and thigh itched insanely and her ribs were very sore from the laughing and joking she'd been doing this night. She flinched slightly as she shifted and the girls didn't fail to notice.

"Kitty, are Logan's painkillers wearing off?" Jean asked gently. Kitty sighed and nodded slightly, knowing where this conversation was going and preparing herself to tell it.

"Baby, what happened?" Jubilee asked, scooting closer.

Kitty began chewing on her bottom lip. "You know, the only actual injury I got from that sim was a few laser burns and a cut on my thigh..."

The girls exchanged confused glances.

"What are you talking about? What about your ribs and knee?" Amara said as Jean slid her eyes shut, obviously already knowing where this was going.

"Kitty, Scott told me that you're officially done with Lance..." Jean said slowly, a fierce glow coming to her eyes as she opened them again.

"Look, he was drunk this morning, from that party they had last night. I was sitting in a tree and he caused a few tremors and I fell. It was my fault I got hurt really, I mean what's the use of phasing if I don't use it," Kitty demanded bitterly.

"WHAT! Lance did this?" Rouge hissed as Rahne growled.

"I'll kill him!" Jubilee demanded as Amara shook her head angrily, ripping apart a paper towel.

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The surveillance was brimming with over protective male testosterone. Logan would have been proud of the boys just then.

Scott had punched the wall and the impact had hardly calmed his anger. Kitty was like a sister to him and the idea of Lance fucking Alvers hurting her was enough to make Scott see red... well he always saw red but anyway.

"No one does that to one of our girls!" Roberto snarled as Ray, who had electricity dancing across his knuckles, nodded in agreement.

"Lance? As in Avalanche?" Remy spat. "I've kicked his ass before and now I'm revving to do it again!"

"Think freezing his nuts off is a good idea?" Bobby demanded, gritting his teeth.

Sam shouted out in agreement before a sharp snarl made them all jump.

"Anything will do," Kurt lashed. His back was arched and his fur bristled. His lips were pulled back in a snarl and his tail whipped furiously.

"Anything will do," Kurt repeated. "As long as I get first dibs."

The guys all nodded mutely at this, fearful of Kurt at this moment.

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"Oh god, Kitty," Jean sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm done with Lance, I don't want anybody to go after him or anything," Kitty said slowly. All the anger she would have, and should have, felt towards Lance was a squashed fly on a windshield compared to the pain of knowing that she had lost Kurt.

"Kitten! That asshole has to pay!" Amara said firmly. Where Amara grew up, no one treated a girl like that. She crossed her arms and a look of disgust became evident on her pretty face.

Kitty shrugged slightly. "I thought you all deserved the truth. I'll tell the guys then, I don't want them thinking I lost my mind."

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"No, but Alvers is gonna lose his life!" Ray snapped angrily. Kitty was very well liked in the mansion, as long as she wasn't trying to cook or offering rides anywhere, then she was more feared then Logan when he didn't have his spiked coffee. She was one of the smartest people at the mansion but didn't find the need to shove it down your throat every chance she got. No, instead she opted for an airhead attitude, something that once you got to know Kitty quickly became a bad joke to you. She and Ray had once confided in another, Ray had just heard of his sister's pregnancy and just needed to talk. So they put on a crappy movie and began to get to know one another more, Ray telling her about his rocky childhood and her listening quietly for once. When prodded about the valley girl act, Kitty had told him that when she was herself and smart and brainy, all the girls at her old school hadn't liked her. But when she acted like nothing was in her head people accepted her.

Ray had explained it to her like this. Kitty was sweet and nice, she was very pretty also. But on top of that she was smart. The girls she was around saw her as a threat, because no one can be that perfect. Kitty had laughed when he told her that and shook her head, saying she was a far cry away from perfect and that Jean was all those things and she didn't need to hide her intelligence for people to like her. Ray had then told her the big difference between her and Jean, self confidence.

Kurt gave a feral growl that came from low in his chest, a low threatening war cry.

Ray shot a wary look at the blue boy, who was still in his 'Don't mess mit mein Katzchen mood', looking like something truly from a nightmare.

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Suddenly, Jean froze, her expression one of worry.

"Jean, what's wrong?" Amara asked tentatively.

Jean looked around the room warily, as if trying to pinpoint something.

"I think..." She paused for a moment and narrowed her eyes. "I think someone's watching us," she finished as the girls exchanged looks of horror.

Thanks for reading! And a lot of the sleepover material was inspired or more like practically borrowed from Inuficcrzy's Girls Night In. You really should read it if you haven't already, it's hilarious! And so is the sequel, Boys Will Be Boys. Also, check out White0orchid's The Rouge, the Rat, the Demon and the Cat. Also very funny and great if you're a fan of the Rouge/Remy and Kitty/Kurt foursome like I am!


	7. Boys 'n Beer

The guys were dead. They were so dead, they just knew it. Their imaginations began to fill with the horrible fate that they would soon be facing.

Wait a minute, what the hell were the girls doing looking under the beds? Shouldn't they be getting shotguns, nooses, duct tape, Gilmore Girls DVDs and whatever else their twisted little minds could think of to torture the guys with?

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The girls were on their hands and knees, lifting up the bedspreads and checking under pillows. Rahne was sniffing around as Jubilee hesitantly threw the closet door open, hanger in hand. Kitty hadn't been able to get on her knees so instead she had phased herself up to the neck into the floor and was checking under various furniture. Jean and Amara were tossing blankets around and would wait for a few seconds to make sure nothing was coming out of them before moving on to another blanket. Rouge, after putting on her heaviest pair of combat boots, would jump repeatedly on a pillow before lifting it up to see if she had squashed anything. And so far she had only found a cracked cd, which she was thankful to see was one of Kitty's god awful pop things. When asked about it later, Rouge would claim that cracking it was a mistake.

"A RAT! It's a big, hairy frickin' rat!" Kitty squealed.

Kitty jumped out of the floor and away from the bed she had been checking under. Rahne transformed into her full wolf form, teeth barred as Jean shook the bed and Jubilee threw fireworks at it, all ready to kill the pest.

Jamie's ferret suddenly emerged, squeaking and chirping as it headed to the door, though not in too much of a hurry to prevent him from snatching a chip from the turned over bowl. Apparently it didn't think six mutant girls as too great of a threat.

"That underwear thief!" Jubilee yelled as it dodged her attack.

"Let's get it!" Amara yelled as the girls chased after the rodent.

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"oh thank god, it was only that stupid ferret," Sam sighed, happy to know that he'd keep on living.

"That ferret is a menace, let's go help the girls catch it!" Roberto said as he headed for the door, though Bobby stepped in front of him.

"No way man, the ferret's leading the girls down this hallway," Bobby said as he nodded to the monitor that indeed showed the ferret taking a hard left, coming towards the surveillance room. "If the girls see us coming from here, they'll know something is up."

"Yea, it's safer if we just lay low and stay in here," Ray added, lounging in his chair.

Scott jumped up and shook his head.

"No, it's not safer! Once Jean passes this room, she'll immediately sense we're in here, seven guys packed in one room is probably like a megaphone to her mind!" He yelled, looking worriedly to the screen. The girls were closing in on the room and there was no way the guys could get out without them seeing.

"Then let's split!" Bobby yelled as he rushed to the window. Ray came to his side and shorted out the alarm system as Remy easily opened it.

The three of them jumped the two story height and landed roughly on the grass.

"Grab on!" Kurt said to Roberto, Sam and Scott. A moment later and they were on the grass standing beside the still moaning Remy, Ray and Bobby, all of whom had grass stains and bruises.

"Oh yeah, thanks guys. You got to port to save your asses and we had to land on ours!" Remy said as he stood up.

"What should we do now?" Roberto asked as he helped Bobby to his feet.

"I don't know, but I doubt I can go back in there and face the girls like everything's fine. Besides, sounds kinda dangerous right now," Ray shook his head slowly, watching the mansion as a small explosion was heard, followed by a wolves whine.

"Oh gosh Rahne! I'm so sorry! I thought it was him, but it was just your tail!" Jubilee's frantic apology could be heard from the opened windows of the living room.

Kurt looked pained for a second as his tail snaked around his wrist.

"I know what you mean. We heard a lot of stuff, and the moment they see me and my guilty mug, they'll know what's up," Sam agreed, reminding them all of his notorious inability to lie.

"Why don't we relax and have a drink?" Remy suggested with a shrug. He was only half kidding but then he noticed the eager looks on the young men's faces. They all turned to Scott, expecting him to condemn the idea.

Instead he sighed and rubbed his neck. "Ah hell, you're all 16 right?" He asked Ray, Roberto, Bobby and Sam, who all nodded their heads vigorously.

"We've had one crazy night and I think a drink might do us some good. Might keep us sane really," He said as he threw all caution to the wind.

"I'll go get the stuff," Remy said, his nineteen year old body eager at the prospect of alcohol. He pulled his motorcycle keys from his pocket and headed for the garage.

"Alright, everyone hand over your keys," Scott said, always the one to plan. The guys willingly gave up their keys which contained copies of keys for the blackbird, van, jeep, medical cabinet and such things that a drunk guy might find fun to play with. "And cell phones, we don't want any drunk dialing."

The guy's nodded and pulled out their beloved phones and followed Scott to the garage in time to see Remy zipping by.

Scott popped open his car's trunk and piled the phones and keys into it before shutting it and locking it again. He scanned for a place to put his keys where he wouldn't lose them or be able to get them while he or the others were drunk.

"Want me to freeze them in a block of ice, I guarantee it won't melt until morning," Bobby suggested.

"Good idea Bobby, ice it up," Scott said, tossing the keys in the air. Bobby froze them and the block fell to the floor, thick and secure.

"Alright, we have no keys, no phones. And no powers, absolutely not," Scott warned the guys.

"The Professor, Storm, and Hank won't be back until tomorrow night, and it'll even take Logan a good two days to bring down the Hulk," Kurt said, running through his mind all the precautions they'd have to take. He hadn't drank in awhile now, and after everything he heard tonight he knew he needed it, especially to restrain from murdering Lance. He was also fairly certain that none of the guys could process the shocking stuff they'd encountered without a little help from Jack Daniel.

"And stay away from the bay and the cliffs!" Scott shouted suddenly, making all the smirking boys jump a little.

"Scott, chill. Why don't we just go to the emergency underground housing we used after the explosion?" Ray suggested.

Scott snapped his fingers. "That's a great idea, Ray. Why can't you think this well in the danger room?" Scott demanded folding his arms.

"Cause in the danger room I'm not thinking about how best to get drunk," Ray pointed out.

"Yea, only about how best not to get your ass fried off," Sam laughed. The guy's spent the next 15 minutes checking the security on the house, they felt bad that after listening in on the girls they'd be leaving them with no manly protection. They unlocked the underground housing and began making the living room more comfortable.

The rubbling hum of Remy's motorcycle could be heard, and the guys greeted him eagerly. Remy hopped off his motorcycle, gripping the box he had balanced on his lap.

With one last wicked grin at one another, the boys headed for the hidden door to their drinking fortress.

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An hour and two bottles of vodka later and the boys were feeling mighty good, and of course talking about girls. The buzzed feeling of their drinks was starting to set in.

"Aw come on Summers! Spill! How long was it until you and Jean had sex?" Bobby demanded, blinking rapidly until only one Scott came into his vision.

"I bet it was like five minutes after he asked her to be his girlfriend," Ray laughed, tossing back another drink.

"Now that's not fair! We liked each other for awhile, honestly it was like we were already a couple," Scott replied with indignation, though a small smile was creeping onto his face.

"Well, if that's the case then Kurt and Kitty would be justified in jumping in bed together," Roberto pointed out as Kurt quickly filled his cup again.

"No, instead he's sleeping with Amanda and imagining Kitty," Sam said, staggering to get a paper towel to clean up his spilled drink.

Kurt shook his head. "Nein, I didn't sleep with Amanda much. We did once, but I totally screwed it up," Kurt had a small amused smile on his face.

"What'd ya do? Didn't last long enough?" Bobby asked, laughing at his own poor joke. It was honestly the best he could think of in his inebriated state.

"Oh that's rich, especially coming from a guy who probably still has wet dreams," Kurt bit back. "Anyway, that's not what happened. I just called her a name."

"Oh mon ami, are you one of those guys who calls the girl they're doing a bitch and slut and whore? Ya know, some girls like that, others not so much.." Remy said. He, Ray and Kurt had drank more then anyone else, though it was obvious that their bodies were more accustomed.

Kurt shook his head once more. "It was nothing like that. I called her Katzchen as I, uh, finished," Kurt said uncomfortably. Normally he was a total gentleman when it came to his relationships with girls, but Kurt found his morals leaving him as the drinks began more frequent.

"Katzchen? That's what you call Kitty... oh Kurt, big mistake," Roberto shook his head slowly as Remy leaned over and filled his glass.

"Oh, talking about Amanda, we broke up today," Kurt said nonchalantly, just remembering the days earlier events.

The guys looked blankly at him.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Scott asked, pushing his cup away.

"With all the excitement today, I honestly forgot. That's really awful of me," Kurt sighed. "We tried to make it work. And at first it was a nice idea. A human girl falling for a mutant, especially a mutant like me. The professor's dream realized. But that's all we were, a dream."

Sam looked at all the other guys. They obviously hadn't been confused when Kurt said he broke up with Amanda. Sam tried to fit the pieces together slowly so as not to get a headache.

"Wait a minute. I thought you were thrilled to be dating Amanda?" Sam asked, looking thoroughly confounded.

" I was thrilled at the idea of someone simply wanting me. But the ghost of _her_ will always be with me, and in between me and every other girl I try and be with, not that I ever want to be with any other girl. I always tried to think only of Amanda, but she always came in second, and a girl knows when you look at her and want to see someone else," Kurt said, as all the other guys, including Remy, nodded sadly. Sam was getting pissed, what the hell was his drunk mind missing?!

"What is going on?" He finally demanded, trying to get his head to stop spinning.

"Dude, c'mon. You know Kitty and Kurt have a thing," Ray said.

"And Kurt will always want to be scratched by the cat and none other," Bobby added, taking another drink.

"Course I knew that, but will you people stop using words like ghost, and weird nicknames, and mon ami, whatever the hell that is. I'm drunk, and I'm simple, so only small uncomplicated words will do right now," Sam said, calming down only after Roberto poured him more to drink.

"So Kurt, does that mean you lost your virginity to Amanda and it sucked?" Remy asked with a small chuckle.

Kurt shook his head, trying to find the best way to phrase this. "Nein, I've had sex before. I was the star of a circus, and that peaked some girls interest." The guys nodded. "But I have to be careful when I have sex, it's a little complicated for me. You know how my mutation gives me animal characteristics?" Kurt usually was never this open about things like this, but the drinks were loosening him up.

The guys nodded once more. Sure they knew. The guy had fur, fangs, a tail, heightened senses, inhuman like flexibility and often growled or purred. Pretty feral stuff for such a gentleman.

"Well, some animals pick mates for life. I happen to be one of them," Kurt said simply, taking another shot.

The guys exchanged curious glances.

"Really? How do you know that?" Scott asked, his brow furrowing.

"The professor told me when I first came here. I asked him if he could reverse the physical mutations and he reluctantly ran some tests and found that out," Kurt laughed slightly. "It was pretty awkward when he told me."

The guys nodded in sympathy, shuddering at the thought of the professor even mentioning sex to any of them.

"So what exactly does that mean? A mate for life?" Roberto asked curiously.

Kurt smiled slightly at his friends. Even though he had to attempt to explain something that was beyond weird to a group of drunk guys, they didn't mock him or jeer but listened. Nothing like friends to make you feel good about being blue and furry.

"If I bite the girl and leave my, uh mark, then we're mates for life. When I have sex I have the urge to leave my mark but so far I've resisted. Only that one person that I bite will truly ever satisfy me. It's not like I couldn't cheat, but there wouldn't be any point in cheating," Kurt explained as best he could, realizing once again just how difficult being an elf was. Kurt recalled nights when he would be in his tent at the circus and local girls would sneak in, wanting to know if the rumors were true, if he really was a demon. Some would run away in fear, others would seduce him, wanting to experience something wild and exotic. Truthfully, he'd associated sex with another form of decimation, all the girls he'd been with were simply because they were kinky, wanting to do the 'demon'. He took a shameful pride in the memories of intertwined limbs and moaning girls who both disgusted and enthralled Kurt. He'd had lost his virginity when he was 14 and for the next two years before Xavier found him, Kurt had had his fair share of sweaty and meaningless sex and luckily hadn't slipped up and marked one as his mate.

"Wow, sounds like a pretty powerful connection," Ray said. He reflected for a moment on his sexual history, which consisted of ten or so faceless girls. It really would be nice to have one person who knows your own needs as keenly as their own.

Kurt nodded. "And it's not just me who gets affected. Whoever I bite will see me as their mate too. But mating with someone doesn't guarantee loving them. I could bite some random girl, but then fall in love with another and then not be able to make love to her," Kurt sighed, drinking a little more.

"Damn Kurt. It's complicated being you. But at least you didn't bite Amanda, that'd be the ultimate friends with benefits," Bobby laughed slightly.

"Yea, and I'm actually not the only mutant who goes through this. Wolves mate for life too, so Rahne has to be careful," Kurt pointed out.

Roberto nodded his head slowly. "So that's why she wants to wait until marriage. To make sure she has a mate out of love."

"Phew, glad I don't have to worry about that," Remy said, shaking his head.

"No, you only have to worry about wanting a girl who can drain you dry," Scott said a little roughly. The guys all turned slowly to Remy. So far they definitely liked him. He was funny and had a lot of personality, but he was still new and was pursuing Rouge. She may be the cutthroat and slightly cold one of the group of girls, but the guys loved her for all that she was.

"I know you all probably think that I won't treat Rouge right and I only want her for one thing, and if it was honestly any other girl, then you'd be right. But I can't get that from Rouge, and I'm okay with that," Remy said slowly to the guys . Their expressions softened, except Scott's which remained stoic and unmoved.

"Just be careful. The girl's already had enough heartache in her life, I mean Kurt's her brother after all," Bobby said as Kurt hit him over the head.

Remy nodded. "I understand your concern. But it's not healthy for her to close herself off like she does."

They nodded before taking a few more hits.

"So," Ray began as he set down his glass. "Who's all virgin here?"

Sam and Bobby both nodded their heads slightly as acknowledgment and Kurt clapped both of them on the backs. Turning towards Roberto, they obviously expected an explanation.

He shrugged his shoulders and smiled a little. "Where I grew up, sex isn't that big of a deal. Cheating is, but casual sex between two consenting people is an accepted, and encouraged, thing."

"Mon ami, I like the way your people think," Remy said as the two clinked their glasses together.

"And you Ray?" Sam asked.

"A few girls here and there. After my parent's split up and my berserker side came out, I kinda lost all self respect," Ray replied, taking another glass.

"Started smoking pot and dumb stuff like that," He continued. "Then the Professor found me, and everything fell into place."

The guys nodded in agreement, all of them had felt lost, except for of course Remy, who had preferred his reckless and wayfarer lifestyle for a time.

"You know, "I've always wondered, does being a mutant automatically make you attractive?" Sam asked, his speech rapidly deteriorating.

"No, have you've seen the brotherhood? Or Sabertooth?" Scott laughed.

"Nah man, I meant mutant chicks," Sam replied, shaking his head slowly.

The guys nodded in agreement. "The X-Girls sure seem to prove that theory," Bobby said.

"When I first got here, all the girls were out swimming and I seriously thought that they had sent me to Playboy Mansion instead of the Mutant Mansion," Roberto laughed.

"And you didn't even see them in their Sirens outfits, now that was impressive," Scott said happily.

"Wasn't Tabitha part of the Sirens?" Bobby asked.

Kurt and Scott nodded. "Yea she was, leather's a good look for that wild child," Kurt added, secretly thinking that it was still a better look on Kitty.

"She's not a bad looking girl either. A little insane, but that works for some girls," Sam said.

"Not my type though," Roberto said. "I'm not big on girls who are taller then me."

"If I were short, I'd feel the same way," Remy nodded, earning a scowl from Bobby and Roberto.

"I think Tabitha is for a guy who likes thighs," Scott added, his usual gentlemanly manner long abandoned after he downed his sixth drink.

"And you seem to like thighs yourself Scott, Jean's got some curves too," Ray pointed out as the guys nodded.

"Same with Rouge," Bobby smiled slightly.

"Ugh, if you're going to talk about my sister then pass me another drink," Kurt said, holding out his cup which Remy happily filled.

"Yea but Rouge has a bigger chest then Jean," Remy chuckled.

"True, she has wider hips to. Those two girls sure have curves," Roberto smiled.

"Yea, which is great if you like that kinda thing," Bobby said. "But I prefer girls a little thinner."

Kurt nodded in agreement. "Amanda was curvy and thick, which I liked for a while but I prefer a girl who's smaller then me."

"Rhane's thin but still has curves," Roberto added. "That's my idea of a perfect body."

"Nah, mine would still be Jean's. I'm tall, so is she, and I guess we look good together...Yea, we look good together...Do we look good together?" Scott asked, worried for a second.

The guys rolled their eyes and nodded. "Yes Scott, you and Jean look good together, relax man." Ray said, he continued on to explain his ideal body for a woman.

"For me, any body will really do. It's the confidence and the knowledge of what to do with that body that is the key part for me. That's sexy beyond hell."

"Oh yea, as long as the girl isn't one of those overconfident brats. I can't stand girls like that," Remy said.

"I like thin bodies myself, lean ones," Bobby began.

"You mean like Jubilee's?" Roberto teased as Bobby blushed slightly.

"Amara's thin too, but she has some serious muscle," Sam added.

"Yea, I had a wrestling match with her once. She may be small but damn can she punch," Scott laughed. "Kitty's small too."

"Yea she is, but thinness is a good look for her," Remy said.

"I like that Katzchen's tiny," Kurt said, his accent thickening as the alcohol worked its way into his mind. His mind filled with an image of Kitty, her small shoulders and her big for her body chest. He knew her stomach was toned and the curve of her hips was soft.

The other guys nodded.

"And short," bobby pointed out, smiling.

"She and Jubilee are incredibly flexible. Jubilee has her gymnastics and Kitty has her dancing, and that crazy funky yoga stuff," Ray continued on, smirking a bit.

Of course all the guys found all the girls in the mansion attractive, and even though a lot of the relationships between the girls and the guys weren't romantic it was still impossible to deny attraction.

"You know, even though we may talk like this, I still respect the girls," Scott said, trying to cling to the remaining respect he had for himself and also being honest.

The guys nodded. The girls they loved were soft and gentle and loving, until they had something to fight for. Then they were tough, unforgiving and relentless.

"There's something about fighting alongside the girls that really makes you love them," Sam said slowly. His thoughts were on Amara, when she was blazing and cracking the ground to let the magma flow. She was so strong and willing to fight.

The other guys agreed with Sam's statement about fighting with the girls.

"I've dated human girls, and none of them even compare to any of our girls here. I'd be on a date with Taryn and then see Rouge or Amara and I wouldn't even be able to look at Taryn anymore. I'm sure it's possible for a mutant and human to fall in love, but we fight next to these girls. Something happens when it's life or death and you have to protect them," Scott said firmly.

The boys all nodded and Remy filled their glasses one by one.

Raising his own glass, he smiled happily.

"To de Femmes," He said. All the other guys smiled and followed suit.

"To the chicks," Bobby laughed.

"To the Senhoras," Roberto smiled

"To the heartbreakers," Sam threw in.

"To the Damen," Kurt smiled, his fangs gleaming as Ray laughed at their ridiculousness but decided to join in.

"To the fair maidens!" He yelled and stifled a laugh as Scott chuckled.

"To our X-Girls," Scott finished as the guys all threw back their drinks.


	8. Animusrepetur

Kurt was now officially slightly drunk. It had taken a lot, and he and Remy had been the last ones standing. Sam had gotten sick but managed to get to the bathroom with help from Bobby. Bobby had fallen asleep in the hallway outside the bathroom and Sam had passed out on the cool bathroom tile floor. Scott had decided he had had just about enough when Ray and Roberto began singing and actually started to sound good, so he'd retired to bed. It was now getting late and even Remy had fallen asleep, leaving Kurt allone, and feeling terribly lonely. He supposed today that he would be justified in being depressed, he had after all broken up with his first girlfriend, but tonight was like all the other nights, when only she existed to him.

He had felt an attraction from the first moment he saw her, and then it grow and hadn't stopped. Everything about her set his mind on fire and his heart ablaze. He thought he'd had enough heartache in his life. Mystique was his mom, she'd let him be experimented on before dropping him in a river, he was hunted and nearly burned on a stake in Germany, then there was Stefan, and he was a blue and furry mutant who resembled something very close to a demon. Yep, he thought the world was done breaking him. But then he fell in love. And everything was beautiful, everything was painful. Never had he felt so full and yet so empty at the same time, and the twisted part was that Kurt never wanted it to stop, even if it meant this pain and torment. Because loving her was the only thing Kurt wanted to do, could do. He'd seen other people, but his heart always pulled him towards Kitty's embrace and never did he want to turn away. They'd grown so close, a bond that could never be broken. More then the brother- sister relationship she had with Scott, or the flirty and light hearted one she had with Bobby. Kurt knew that Kitty could trust either of those, in fact all of the guys, with her life, but her heart was a different matter entirely. They never had to question one another's actions and instintively knew one another. For neither of them being telepathatic Kurt was still fairly certain that they could give Jean and Scott a run for their money.

Kurt took a deep breathe, the air in the underground housing suddenly becoming stiffling. His sensitive nose picked up on the alcohol, the boys sweat, cigarrate smoke (Remy and Ray had snuck a couple after Scott went to bed) and bile (courtesy of the lightwieght Sam), all of which caused Kurt to gag. An overwhelming need to leave this place filled him and before he could stop himself from drunk teleporting, Kurt was in the yard, a good twenty feet from the living room window, which was the only spot that was giving off light anymore. Kurt paused when a familiar scent wafted through the air. He turned and caught sight of Kitty and Jean in the living room, tidying up the mess they and the other girls had made while on the hunt for the ferret. Kurt perked up his ears when he heard Jean's voice.

"Kitty, I know that you just want to move on from what Lance did, but we really should tell the professor or Ms. Monroe, or maybe even Logan.."

Kurt heard Kitty snort in laughter at the idea of telling Logan. It was no secret that all the girls were protected by Logan, but he could go a little pyscho when Kitty or Rouge were involved. Though those two were complete opposites, Logan cherished them both, wanting to protect them. Kurt supposed that he could relate to Rouge, feeling lost and terribly alone, and wanted to, even though he would never admit it, prove to her that there was hope. However, Logan himself wasn't quite too sure if there was, until he looked upon Kitty. Kitty was incorruptable, her innocence and optimism in humanity still shone through the halls of the mansion, even though she had now seen her fair share of hate in the world. In Kitty, Kurt believed that Logan saw the hope he sought to give to Rouge and the two girls who were as different from one another then night is from day, inspired Logan, reminded him that even though he may be pratically immortal, doesn't mean his heart has grown dull from beating.

"Okay, maybe telling Logan would be a bad idea," Jean's voice chuckled as Kurt bit back the urge to run over and tell the girls to leave Alvers to him. His slightly drunk mind considered going over to the Brotherhood house now and get it over with, but Kurt felt that being sober at the time of Lance's ass kicking would be much more beneficial.

He heard Kitty groan in pain as she tried to move a chair.

"Kitty," Jean scolded. "Leave the heavy lifting to the telepath."

Kurt fought the need to jump into the room and hold her until the pain subside, though he settled for digging his nails into his palm instead. He peeked a glance in the room and watched as Kitty froze, glancing towards the window.

'Verdammt,' Kurt thought cringing as Kitty's eyes rested on his, an unsurpirsed and amused look passed over her beautiful face before it clouded and she looked painfully lost. He had temporarily forgotten about Kitty's uncanny ability to know when he was around her. Kurt often wondered just how she did it, maybe she was allergic to blue fur and would start to inch when he was in her vicintiy. Kurt dismissed this idea as his mind sifted through all the memories of her curled to his chest, laughing, or crying, or simply being there with him. Jean and the Professor could both mentally pick up on someone's presence, and Logan, Rahne and Kurt could smell the person, though Kitty was easiest for Kurt to locate, so it was no mystery why they five were impossible to sneak up on. Kitty was usually a very easy target for unexpected jokes, except when Kurt was involved.

'After two years of me popping up everywhere and frightening her I think it must be a survival thing now,' Kurt laughed.

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He was out there, Kitty just knew. A familiar aching in her chest erupted and Jean staggered as Kitty unintentionally projected her pain. Kitty approached the window and looked out, spotting the glowing yellow eyes that made her world bright and painful. Kurt didn't blink, but met her gaze, his eyes unguarded and soft. She knew he hadn't meant to listen in, hell it was her fault that she and Jean were talking so loudly with the window open. 'Yea, real stealthy Pryde. You're shaping up to be one hell of X-Man,' Kitty thought bitterly, a small smirk playing at her lips before it faded away, the two burning embers never faltering.

Kitty allowed herself to continue staring into his eyes, not having the energy to mask her hurt.

"Please," Kitty whispered, knowing that Kurt could hear her. She wasn't quite sure what she was pleading for. She finally knew what she wanted but never could she ask that of him. She knew now for sure that it was too late, and Kitty couldn't disrupt his happiness for her own sake.

"Please," Kitty started again as his eyes urged her on, pleading silently to allow passage into her thoughts and wishes. Kitty caught the words 'love me' in her throat and swallowed hard. "Leave."

His eyes looked hurt for a moment, but not surprised and Kitty's heart crumbled more. She wasn't sure if knowing she had hurt him was more painful then realizing that after all this time he still expected her to do so. He kept her steady gaze for a moment longer, and Kitty felt so exposed and raw. The yellow eyes lowered and Kitty heard a faint bamf, the night now absent of comfort, offering only cold and distance, promises of satisfaction in exchange for undeserving trust.

Kitty continued standing there for a moment before Jean grabbed her shoulders, looking as though she might burst out crying.

"Kitty for god sakes stop projecting!" Jean grumbled as she forced a hand to massage her temple.

"Sorry, I'm sorry. I was always terrible at the whole mental barrier thing," Kitty attempted to force her emotions back in and felt Jean's mental fingers coaxing and helping her. After a moment Kitty had recollected her scattered emotions and the two sat down on the couch, which was slightly askew and not in place in the large room.

"Kitty, are you that upset over what happened with Lance? Or is it something else?" Jean asked slowly, clearly already knwoing the answer.

"Look, I know you must know now, but I don't want to talk about it. There's no point," Kitty said a little roughly, not quite ready to talk about her emotional failures.

"Look Kitty, I know the signs of severe depression, you're bordering on it, so please let's talk," Jean pleaded, grasping one of Kitty's hand desperately.

Kitty sighed, never would she had used depression to describe what she was feeling. Depression to her was when nothing mattered, and that wasn't true for her. No, he still mattered to her, he always would.

"Not depression, a broken heart," Kitty said slowly, letting tears sting her eyes.

"It's Kurt, isn't it?" Jean asked quietly. Kitty's cobalt blue eyes met Jean's green one's and broke once more.

"Yes," Kitty whimpered, placing her elbows on her knees, ignoring the shooting pain's from her ribs and knee. "Jean, I'm in love with him."

Kitty's throat tightened and everything ached. Her arms felt as if metal was coursing through her veins, and her toes were going numb. Her shoulders and neck vibrated with tremors and and she felt nuase, as if her stomach was trying to phase itself out of her body. She said it, it was out in the open, and now a heavy weight cascaded over her.

"Oh Kitty," Jean mumbled, placing her hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay. Talk to him, Kurt would never hurt you."

"That's exactly it Jean. He'd be so worried about hurting me and damaging our relationship, that he wouldn't know what to do. But he loves Amanda, in love with her," Kitty choked out softly, drawing her robes closer to her body.

Jean shifted uncomfortably, the reluctant 'I know something I really shouldn't know' look on her face. "Are you sure he loves her Kitty? I mean positive?"

"Sure he does. Why wouldn't he? She's pretty and actually has a chest and thighs. And she sees him Jean, him for who he is," Kitty mumbled, shame flooding through her as she recalled her early days at the Mansion, the flinching, discomfort, and rude and hurtful way she had treated Kurt.

"So do you. You see him better then any of us, even better then Amanda does Kitty. Trust me, I know how she looks at him," Jean pressed as Kitty raised an eyebrow.

"Jean Grey, were you using your special gift for your own edification?"

Jean rolled her eyes and laughed. "Not for mine, for Kurt's. I was happy for him when he and Amanda started dating. But I just felt something was a little off. Anyway, I did a tiny bit of probing. Kitty, she looks at him like soemone out of a fairy tale, like some exotic rock star. She sees him as a mutant, wild and exciting and forbidden. Kitty you know him as a man, and you love him as a human," Jean said soothingly.

"Doesn't change the fact that he loves her, " Kitty said slowly. She had suspected Amanda's real motivations for wanting to be with Kurt, hell she herself had done that with Lance. The danger was exciting, going against what everyone thought was acceptable made her feel strangely satisfied yet terribly empty at the same time.

Jean bit her lip. She knew roughly the emotions going through Kurt's heart. Unlike Kitty, Kurt was among the best in putting up mental and emotional barriers, probably to keep his privacy about his tumoltous past life and to keep Jean and the professor safe from his deep discontentment with himself and other unpleasant things, and there really were many. However, even he isn't able to stop of the projections of adoration and love when Kitty steps in the room. She wanted to tell Kitty, to ease the poor girl's suffering, but knew it wasn't her place.

'Damn telepathy,' Jean thought, 'God, they're more dense then Scott and I were at first.'

"Listen Kitty, don't give up. And what ever you do, don't push Kurt away."

"I don't mean to Jean, it's just so painful to be around him and know I can never be with him," Kitty sighed, rubbing her sore knee absently. "I'm being totally unfair to him, but I don't know what else to do."

"What do you think you can do?" Jean asked tentaviley.

Kitty offered her a weak smile. "I can't afford to lose Kurt, Jean. So I'm going to have to suffer through this."

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Remy knew they were busted. He just knew it. Call it developing a sixth sense for danger from living as a theif. Or call a simple deep down gut feeling that everyone get's right before the shit hits the ceiling fan. Or perhaps call it being seized by the collar and hauled unceremionsly onto your feet by a snarling Wolverine. Call it whatever you may, but Remy called it being so busted.

"Care to explain bub?" Logan growled before setting Remy down roughly. Sam was coming out of the bathroom, looking a little green as Ray started pouring everyone glasses of water and Roberto dug around in the medicine cabinet to locate some aspirin. God knows that they would need it now. Bobby and Scott were cleaning up the mess they had made, bags filled with red plastic cups and paper towels. A moment later Kurt bamfed in, freshly showered and in his arms a pile of clothes for all the guys.

Logan sighed and rubbed his head, he was never very good at this whole mentor thing and he definetly knew he couldn't critzisce where alcohol was involved.

'Fuck, when I took this job I thought I'd just have to walk around, grunt and flash my claws a couple times. Damnit Charles, we better start talking about a raise,' Logan thought as Remy looked at him with a casual smile that was clearly hiding anxiety.

"Look. I'm not going to tear into ya for this. And neither is the professor," Logan began in a snarl.

Scott froze. He had been mentally berading himself for allowing this to happen and was prepared for some serious lecturing from Logan and the professor, as well as extra danger room sessions. He, Kurt and Bobby shared worried glances. Soemthing very serious must have happened for the adults to ignore punishment for drinking on school grounds.

"Logan, what's going on? Is everyone alright?" Scott demanded, passing his trash bag to Ray in exchange for a glass of water.

Logan turned to look at him. "Right now they are. But if you all had pulled this a few days from now, then no, I doubt everyone would be alright, and then I seriously would have had to kill you."

"Mr. Logan, what are you talking about?" Sam asked, clutching his stomach as nervousness and nausia swept over him, settling in the back of his throat.

"All of you get cleaned up and dressed. Chuck and I will explain everything when you get to his office." With that Logan turned and left the room, but not before grabbing a quarter full vodka bottle and downing it, tossing the empty bottle over his shoulder. Ray caught it absentmindedly, his eyebrows knitted together. He didn't like the sound of any of what Logan had just said.

"What the hell? Why aren't we dead right now?" Roberto asked, his usual stance of nonchalant and relaxed self confidence gone.

"Cause something big and bad happened," Kurt sighed. He tossed each of the guys their outfits and told them to shower up while he cleaned up the room.

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Scott fidgeted nervously as they made their way up to the mansion. He wasn't nervous that they would get in trouble, but was very nervous about finding out what was so threatening that the adults weren't going to punish them.

The boys exchanged a nervous glance before entering the room. The professor and Logan both looked rather grim. Xavier raised his head and with a wordless gesture, motioned for the guys to sit.

They assembled quickly and quietly, settling themselves on chairs, couches and countertops.

"Professor, I take all responsibility for last night," Remy started but was cut off by Scott's determined and steady interjection.

"No, I never should have let it happen."

"Will you two pansies stop trying to outblame one another," Logan snapped, rolling his cigar between his fingers.

"What happened last night was completely irresponsible of you all, and you all are very aware of that. But we don't have time to dwell on it," The professor sighed, trying to find a way to ease what he was about to say out into the open. "As you all know Mr. McCoy, Ms. Monroe and I went the Africa on high confidential business," The Professor began.

The guys exchanged glances and nodded slowly. Africa, sure. Big continent with elephants, giraffes, rhino, some really nice people and some really not so nice people. Beast and Storm had been making frequent and prlonged visits there over the past few months, hoping that something in the X-Gene could slow or create immunity to the AIDS virus, though the last trip they had taken there had been out of the blue, things quickly thrown into the Blackbird and Mr. McCoy's portable lab completely forgotten.

"Professor, where's Ms. Monroe? Is she alright?" Sam asked slowly, afraid of the answer.

"Right now, she's searching for Evan in the Morlocks tunnels to try and convince him and the other Morlocks to come here. You see, Callisto is in danger," the Professor said solemnly.

The guys tensed in surprise and concern. Callisto, as all the guys knew, was one tough lady. You kinda had to be when you were the leader of hated and very much hunted mutants whose only solace was in the scums of sewer tunnels. Whatever was worry the Professor, Logan and Ms. Monroe was serious.

"Is she going to be alright?" Ray asked, moving to get up from his perch on a countertop. He had led the younger mutants into the tunnels after they had all been exposed and the mansion exploded. Callisto had given them protection and they owed her.

"Ray, sit," Logan growled. "Callisto will be alright. I'm betting she'll refuse to come to the mansion, but she's surrounded by a group of men who care about her. She has a good army around her, and we need you here."

Roberto was the first to speak up. "Why is Callisto in danger? What's the reason?"

The Professor sighed and leaned back. "The reason is because she's a young lady. A mutant young lady."

Horrified expressions passed through all the guy's faces as they made to leave the room and find the girls and find very safe places for them. Locking them away in closets and putting inhibiltator collars one them wouldn't be immoral, right? They'd give them a book, or something...

"Sit, all of you. Luckily all the girls are in sleeping in Kitty's room, but you all already knew that," Logan snarled as the guys cast their eyes down in guilty form. You couldn't keep anything from Logan. "Hank is outside their door right now. Now listen. You want to go off and by knights in shiny fucking armor then you better know what you're going up against if the girls have any chance of making it through this." The dark look on Logan's face made them quiver.

"Fine, what's after them?" Scott demanded, his 'Military Man' kicking in.

"A mutant who steals souls. His name is Jason Murr, he's 20 years old. If he kisses the girl, then he has her soul, her memories, and the victim is left in a catatonic state, unresponsive and dead to the world. He first discovered his mutant abilities when he was 19, when he stole the soul of his girlfriend, a human named Evelyn . Once he took her soul, he didn't want to be discovered and killed her. After some speculation he wanted to steal the soul of a mutant, to see if he could gain their powers. Unforutantley he was correct in his assumption. The first mutant he killed was a fifteen year old who could temporarily freeze people in suspended animation, her name was Kara Bronstrom. He raped her and killed her," the Professor said slowly, looking each of the boy's in the eye.

Remy made a disgusted snarl as both Logan and Kurt growled.

"And he didn't stop there. He began trying to keep a low profile, searching for mutant girls to kill. He traveled to Japan, were he hunted and stalked Yumi Kawasaki, a 17 girl who has the power of posession. I'll spare the details, I'm sure you all know how it ended. We were just made aware of this man-"

The professor was interrupted by Bobby shaking his head furiously.

"No, not a man. Never a man. We are men," He gestured to all of those who sat around him. "We have hearts, he's a monster."

"Whatever he may be, one thing is for sure. He is dangerous. Especially with the new mutations he's recieved. Ms. Monroe had gotten some disturbing news that a mutant girl from her village was being stalked, so we rushed over, but she was dead before we got there. This girl simply called herself Mbweha, which means jackal in her native Swahili. She had nails that if they scratched someone the person would have excruatiating pains, become temporarily blind, deaf and know nothing except the pain they were experiencing, they will bled profusley, but never die. Through the pain, there is no promise of relief. If mutilated enough times, they person would be driven to insanity by the pain. After the attack passes, the victim has no scars, no evidence that they nearly lost themselves in a world of torment. And now he has her mutationa and soul. He calls himself Animusereptur," The Professor said, rubbing his temples.

"The soul thief," Kurt said with a bitter snarl. "It's fitting."

Remy looked surprised at Kurt's knowledge in Latin before Bobby caught his look and shrugged, he being of the same religious upbringing as Kurt, though not nearly as committed to it as Kurt was. "It's a Catholic thing."

"And he still has the girls souls just locked away? They don't even have peace?" Sam asked, looking as though he may be sick. Again.

"No, no peace. No heaven. We have to help those girls," Kurt said determinly, before looking a little startled. "Professor, our girls will be alright? They're safe here in the mansion, ja?"

"No, I'm afraid not. We were able to catch up to him as he attempted to leave Africa and called Logan from his mission with the Hulk. And with th combined effort of Ms. Monroe, Mr. McCoy, Logan and myself, we were defeated," The Professor said.

"No," Scott breathed. An insane, soul stealing, rapist, murder was loose and it someohow evaded danger from the hands of a powerful weather witch, a biologically and anatomically altered weapon, a genius in the form of a feriouscios beast and the worlds most powerful telepath. They didn't stand a chance.

"That's not the worst part. We're not sore losers, but before he left, he showed us his next victims," Logan snarled, pulling out an envelope. One by one he pulled out pictures. Jean was at the grocery store, reaching for a box of Jamie's favorite cookies, her cart piled with food for all the institute. The next one was of Wanda, sitting in her room at the Brotherhood house, reading a book.

"Even they're not safe," Ray moaned as Scott snatched Jean's photo. The next picture was of Rouge, stopping down to pet a dog in the park. She had a happy smile on her face, and her gloves were off, the fur of the animal protecting it from her lethal skin.

Remy gasped. "Non, Chere."

Another picture was presented, Tabitha sitting at a red light in Lance's jeep, her arms raised at what the guys assumed to be the music that she probably had been blaring. Logan drew the next picture, turning it over to reveal Jubilee in her favorite yellow blazer standing in a plane terminal, looking impatiently at her watch.

Bobby's eyes got wide. "Her plane.. when it arrived in New York, they had trouble finding her bags. Oh God," Bobby rested his head in his hands.

Roberto tried to place a comforting hand on his shoulder but failed as he shivered himself. The guy had already been stalking them for awhile now, and no one had any idea. Logan looked sick as he pulled another picture out. Amara, with a small sad smile, was looking at pictures of her home, laying sprawled out on her bed, fingers twirling in her lush brown hair. A sheen across the picture suggested that it had been taken through a window.

"What the hell! How is that possible? How'd he get that picture?" Scott shouted angrily. "They should be safe here!"

"No, they're not safe here," Logan said as he pulled the last two pictures out with particular sadness. Rhane was watching the sunset over the bay, a happy smile on her face as the light bathed her in warmth. Kitty was in her pajama's tiptoeing down the hall, a nervous look on her face, the only light coming from an open bathroom door. Her chestnut hair was dishelved and her small hand pressed lightly against the wall.

"Nein," Kurt hissed. He glanced at the date of the picture. Just two nights ago. She had been on her way to Kurt's room to sleep after watching the alien movie. All thr guys were shocked out of their hangover state of mind, realization hitting them.

"Jesus, he could have taken them last night. And we wouldn't have even known it," Ray spat angrily, feeling ridiculously helpless. Here they were, Xavier's finest. They went through 15 hours plus of training a week from Logan, the Wolverine, and now they couldn't even protect their own?

"Professor, shouldn't we tell the girls? They should know what's after them," Sam asked, pulling the pictures of Rouge, Jean and Kitty from the boys hands, shoving them roughly back into Logan's hands, followed by Amara's picture, which he cast one more concerned glance at.

Scott's head snapped up. "No, bad idea."

"Why? They can't go walking around not knowing, they'd be perfect targets!" Remy challenged, his hands shaking slightly as Logan smirked. This boy needed a cigarette.

"I hate leaving the girls in the dark about this, but I agree with Scott. The girls are all stubborn, and brave, and well a little naive at how dangerous a situation can be," Kurt sighed, bringing himself back to rational thought

"Basically, they'd act like fools, try and trap him or some other stupidly elaborate plan that would put them in very immediate danger. We all remember the Sirens. They'd probably whip out those outfits, stick a target on their backs and cartwheel down the street at midnight singing Thriller," Bobby said, shaking his head grimly. Locking them in closets was seriously looking like a reasonable solution right about now.

"So how are we gonna do this? Not let them leave the mansion? I can just see it now, Rouge zapping us all dry as Jean and Jubilee blow new doors all over the place. And how long do you think we could hold off Kitty until she phases all the girls out and they make a break for it and run like chickens?" Ray asked dryly.

Logan smirked a little. "Simple, tracking 101. You stay out of sight, you keep her in sight, and you are always alert."

The guys exchanged incrediculous looks. "So, basically stalking?" Remy asked.

Logan cringed and his eyes darkened. "Not stalking Gumbo, protecting."

"They'd catch on right away. At least Jean and Rhane would, and Wanda probably would too," Roberto grumbled, not keen on the idea of getting his ass attacked by any of the girls.

"And also, unless Logan or McCoy are going to track and protect with us, then we're outnumbered. Eight of them, seven of us," Scott pointed out.

The Professor smiled slightly. "Scott, I'm very glad you brought that up. That's why I've enlisted some help."

The door swung open and the Brotherhood, Lance leading the way, walked in.


	9. Forms of interrogation

In one fluid and devastating movement Kurt had seized Lance by the collar, slamming his back onto the professor's desk. All the guys recalled exactly what had happened between him and Kitty and stood from their seats, faces filled with anger as they blocked the other Brotherhood members from tackling Kurt.

Lance swung at Kurt's face, but Kurt's free hand caught his wrist and twisted it, his powerful blue tail slipping around Lance's neck.

The Professor sighed, knowing that none of this was unexpected.

"Now Kurt-" the Professor was cut off by a snarl from Kurt, though it wasn't directed at the Professor. Logan watched with foreboding interest, curious as to what set the normally jovial and pleasant elf off. Eve in the company of the enemy he was usually polite.

"I'll ask you once Alvers, and if you lie to me, then only the Devil will be able to set eyes on you again after I'm finished," Kurt snarled vehemently.

The Brotherhood guys cast nervous glances at one another. Kurt Wagner, or if you really want to be biologically correct, Kurt Darkholme, never made a promise he couldn't keep. Pietro stepped forward, ready to tell everyone to relax but wisely stopped as Gambit's bo staff came to rest on his shoulder.

"Did you hurt Kitty yesterday?" The question was asked in a low hiss, and Logan jumped to his feet.

Lance struggled for a moment more as the sound of Logan's claws unsheathing broke the heavy and pregnant silence.

"Logan," the Professor's warning was very much ignored as Lance confirmed Kurt's question with a bitter, "So what."

Logan growled, reaching out to push Kurt off of Lance so that he could get to him himself. Kurt, however,had different plans.

"My fight," He snarled as his eyes darkened. A moment later and Logan was trying to catch smoke with his fingers, growling obscenities.

"Where'd they go!" Logan snapped.

"They didn't go far," Scott said nodding towards the window to where the two teens faced each other out on the grass.

"What the hell are we standing here for, let's move it!" Pietro said as he dashed away, the others following in hot pursuit.

By some unspoken concession, neither Lance or Kurt used their powers, though there was plenty of cheap shots and swearing. Lance had just landed a hard punch on Kurt's stomach who retaliated with sweeping Lance's feet from under him.

"Why is it any of your business? Shouldn't you hate all women after what your mom did to you?" Lance spat, Kurt's fist making contact with his jaw. Lance may have been bigger and taller, but Kurt was agile, fast and precise. Being the star trapeze artist and acrobat of a circus makes ones timing impeccable.

The crowd of guys clustered around them, Roberto holding Todd back so he wouldn't jump in and cause on all out scuffle between the two teams, which really was the last thing they needed. Blob's feet were secured to the ground by a mound of ice courtesy of Bobby.

"Call the blue boy off!" Pietro demanded at Scott as Lance stumbled backwards after a well placed kick at his chest.

"Girls!" Mr. McCoy's voice sounded from behind the group. They turned to see the six mutant girls, being chased by six duplicate Jamies and a tired looking Mr. McCoy.

"Get off of me ya clone!" Rouge shouted at the Jamie who had just latched itself onto her. The girls all sported bed head and askew robes, as well as confused expressions.

Kitty gasped as she saw the two boys who were fighting. She broke out into a limping run and grumbling, phased herself into the ground. The group of girls came to stand beside the guys, watching Kurt and Lance prepare for another onslaught as Kitty phased herself out of the ground, coming in between the two who had both just thrown punches. Kurt's fist stopped an inch from Kitty's face as Lance's phased through Kitty's ribs.

Kurt lowered his fist and wiped the blood from his lip. A hard punch from Lance had caused his sharp canines to pierce the skin.

Kitty glanced down and noticed Lance's fist still through her. With a noise of disgust Kitty extracted himself from him, the crowd of X-Men unconsciously moving forward to crowd around her.

"Don't you think you've down enough damage there Lance?" she demanded. The girls had been awoken by the tell tale sounds of a fight and practically had to ambush Hank and Jamie so they could leave Kitty and Rouge's room.

"Kitty, I want to apologize for that," Lance began, bringing his hand up to rest on Kitty's shoulder but stopped when he caught the expressions on her friends faces and heard the warning snarl of Wolverine.

"Lance don't," Kitty began. She narrowed her eyes and scrutinized him for a moment. Her fierce look slowly melted into disappointment. She regarded his guilt ridden brown eyes, his bleeding nose and his messy hair. She knew he'd lashed out at her because he was drunk and hurt. There was no excuse, but that didn't mean Kitty couldn't forgive him.

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Scott watched the exchange closely. Working with the Brotherhood was not going to be pleasant or even easy, but what other option did they have. They had to keep the girls safe. Scott reflexively pulled Jean close to him, admiring the way her robe fell open at her chest, revealing the emerald green teddy. And that's when realization hit Scott dead in the face.

"What in the hell are you doing outside!" He demanded, his eyes sweeping around looking for threats as he did a head count of all the girls.

"Well we heard what sounded like a fight and came running. Why is everyone acting all weird? And why are the Brotherhood here?" Rouge said as Remy tried to cover her with his trench coat. "Hands off Swamp Rat!"

"All of you!" Logan growled at the girls. "Inside, now."

"Mr. Logan, what's wrong?" Kitty demanded, a frown on her face as the boys started rounding up the girls, shooing them and nudging them to the door.

"Scott!" Jean yelped as he threw her over his shoulder.

"Good idea," Bobby said as tackled Jubilee around the waist and hoisted her up.

"What the hell! I can walk!" Jubilee protested, a small firework coming off her fingertip and hitting Bobby in the ass.

With a small curse Bobby toppled over, taking Jubilee with him, which in turn tripped Sam who was frog marching Amara into the mansion.

Lance gently took Kitty by the shoulder, hesitant about touching her, and directed her towards to the door.

"Stop, what is going on?" Kitty demanded once more as she phased herself out of his grip.

"Pun'kin, just get in the house," Logan said as Rouge stomped off, both Ray and Remy poking and pulling her toward the mansion.

Kitty firmly shook her head ad Lance groaned. His eyes met Kurt's, who gave a slight nod before grabbing Kitty's hand and teleporting them to her room.

"Kurt!" Kitty scolded when they arrived in her very messy room, pillows and empty glasses and bowls evidence of the sleepover that had been hosted there. The other girls could be heard downstairs and in their rooms, all grumbling about being manhandled and thrown about.

"Katzchen, bitte," Kurt began but was cut off when Kitty's fingers grazed at his lips, his blood marring her skin.

"Are you alright?" she asked after a moment, grabbing a tissue and dabbing at the injury.

"Fine, just a cut," Kurt said, tilting Kitty's chin so she would look him in the eyes.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked slowly.

"Well, you obviously found out anyway," Kitty said, trying to be angry at him, but failing miserably.

"I'm sorry you felt the need to beat him up," Kitty said with a small laugh.

Kurt sighed, the adrenaline and anger he;d felt during the fight draining away.

"I feel the need to do a lot more then that," He began. When he'd first found out about what Lance had done, he was pure rage. But now after learning about what was out there, this Animusereptur, his objectives were different, and simply making sure that Kitty, Rouge and the other girls made it through this was his central concern. Lance and the Brotherhood would definitely come in handy.

"Kurt, you're always honest with me. What's going on? Why is the Brotherhood here?" Kitty asked slowly.

"Liebling, I can't tell you," Kurt sighed.

Kitty made a frustrated growl and sat on her bed, her knee throbbing in pain.

"Ugh I thought we were all a team! What are you guys hiding?" Kitty demanded as Rouge came into the room, Remy hot on her tail.

"I'd like to know the same thing!" Rouge snapped as she took off the trench coat and threw it at Remy who deftly caught it.

"Now Chere, calm down," Remy began but was silenced by the slamming of Rouge and Kitty's bathroom door.

Scott appeared at the bedroom door. He opened his mouth to speak but grunted and placed a hand to his forehead.

"No mental probing Jean!" He yelled over his shoulder.

"Damn you Scott!" was the polite reply.

"Jean may be a telepath, but I have some very effective ways of persuasion," Kitty purred as she stood and placed both hands on Kurt's chest, tracing small circles with her nails. She stood on tiptoes and blew gently in his ear, satisfied when she heard his low purr. "Should we test them out?"

Kurt's tail wrapped itself around Kitty's bare leg as Scott's voice interrupted them.

"No! No seduction! Kurt be strong man!" Scott yelled before turning to the hallway to see a bra and panty clad Jubilee sauntering her way towards Bobby. "Damn it! Jubilee put your robe back on! And Bobby stop drooling!" Scott grabbed a blanket from Rouge's bed and chased after Jubilee.

Kurt took Kitty's shoulders and stepped back from her, his tail reluctantly unwinding.

"Katzchen-" Kurt began. Kitty narrowed her eyes before gently taking Kurt's tail and using the tip to trail down her neck and then trace her lips, her tongue darting out to lick it slowly. Kurt groaned and sagged against her, his hands sliding down to grip her waist almost roughly, his hips quivering slightly.

"Chaton!" Remy gasped as Kitty let out an eep and jumped away from Kurt, who staggered and sat on her bed.

"Using your sexuality and good looks like that! I'd never thought of you using sex as a bargaining chip!" Remy chuckled as Kitty flushed.

"Psh," Kitty answered with a flap of her hand. "Whoever said anything about sex Lebaeu?"

Kurt let out a small whimper as the words left Kitty's mouth, his tail thrashing tersely.

Remy quirked an eyebrow and gave a small chuckle. "I had you tagged as a tease. This is just confirmation," Remy joked with a nod towards Kurt.

The bathroom door opened to reveal a sweatpants and tank top wearing Rouge who took a threatening step towards Remy.

"And you Chere? What interrogation method will you be using? I'd very much like to be the subject, if Chaton and you take the same approach," Remy grinned as Rouge drew closer.

"Jean has her telepathy, Kitty's got her body," Kitty let out another embarrassed eep as Kurt let out another whimper. "But all I have to do is touch you, and all your secrets are mine."

Rouge lunged towards Remy, her bare arms and hands seeking skin.

Remy dodged and rushed to the door. "I may want you to touch me Chere, but I meant under different circumstances!"

Rouge swiped at him again, grazing his chest.

"That's my cue to leave," Remy rushed from the room. Rouge sighed and went to her vanity, taking a brush to her hair.

"I'll get him yet."

"Kurt," Kitty cooed, sitting down next to him. Her hand rested on his knee gently.

"And there's my cue," Kurt said and with a bamf he was gone.

Kitty let out a frustrated noise and began trying to tidy up the room.

"Something's going on," Rouge growled, as the other girls came into the room, claiming to be collecting their pillows.

"Yea there is. I don't even need telepathy to feel the suspicion and sneakiness they're giving off," Jean said as Jubilee flopped herself onto Rouge's bed.

"Well, we'll figure out what's up, one way or another," Amara said confidently.

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"Now, are you two finished?" The professor asked Lance and Kurt as the guys assembled into his office once more.

"Ja, if we're going to work together, then we had to clear the air," Kurt said tersely as Lance nodded in an ashamed manner.

"In that case," Ray stood up and punched Lance in the stomach, who grunted but refrained himself from throttling Ray and getting into another fight.

Seeing the Professor's raised eyebrow, Ray shrugged his shoulders.

"We needed to clear the air."

The guys all exchanged glances before jumping to their feet, making their way to Lance.

"All of you, sit," the Professor demanded. "We have work to do, let bygones be bygones. And Logan, really. You should fight someone your own age." The Professor scolded Logan who had also jumped up to tackle Lance.

"In that case Chuck, I'd be causing hell in a retirement home."

Grumbling, the guys took their seats again, casting hostile glances towards Pietro, Lance and the other members of the Brotherhood.

"All right," Logan said as he placed a duffel bag on Xavier's desk. He pulled out twelve ear pieces and wrist watches, plus a gray base.

"Everyone takes a set of these," Logan began, motioning to an earpiece and wrist watch. "Everyday eight of you will track your designated girl, how you divide it is up to you. The remaining four of you will be on surveillance or on backup."

The guys nodded and each took an earpiece and wrist watch.

"Great, now I have two watches. This doesn't look silly or anything," Kurt grumbled as he tried to put on his watch, his fingers fumbling on the clasp.

"So how do these things work?" Roberto asked, playing with the small buttons on the screen of the watch.

"There are twelve channels on the frequency of the communicators, and one central one. This base will be kept with Mr. McCoy who will be researching Animusereputer, the bastard. You can contact one another directly, or as a whole group. Every hour on the hour you will report your location, her location and condition and any suspicious activity you see. The sound off will begin with X number one, who will be Scott and continue chronologically from there," Logan said firmly and clearly as the guys all nodded.

"I know this isn't how you expected to be spending your summer vacation, and I apologize for that, but this is dire," the Professor began.

"Prof, don't worry about it. It's our girls, we have to do it," Bobby said.

"And also, the girl you are tracking, and ultimately protecting, is relying on you. You do the best you can to keep her out of harms way, you don't make any rash decisions, you call for help when you need it and you do not leave her on her own," Logan snarled.

"Of course," Scott replied. "So today's the first day we're doing this. How are we going to divide it up?"

"Obviously Jean's all yours, she'd sense any of us right away. Dating a telepath, I assume you have the strongest mental shields," Bobby began.

"I'll scout the area today, Todd you watch Wanda, and if anything happens to her, I'll rip your tongue out," Pietro hissed.

"Okay, so Jean and Wanda are taken care of," Sam said. "And Tabby?"

"She's feeling sick today and I doubt she'll be leaving the house, so I'll watch her," Lance offered.

"Right, sounds good," Scott nodded. "Fred, you can be permanent back up, stealth isn't exactly your thing."

Fred seemed pleased enough with this and nodded.

"That just leaves the rest of the girls here at the institute," Ray said

"Jubilee and Amara were planning on going out on the boat today, I'm sure Sam and I can convince them to take us with them," Bobby said.

"Good, they're covered. Now Rhane, Rouge and Kitty are left," Scott said.

"Gumbo, this guys hometown was the slums of New York. I want you to take a field trip, go there and find out as much about him as possible," Logan said.

"Nightcrawler, take Kitty. She was planning on going to a lot of places today, you'd be the only one to keep up with her ," Scott said

"I'll follow Rhane," Ray offered.

"And I'll take Rouge. I hope she doesn't catch me, she'll kick my ass," Roberto sighed.

"Now we've got that covered, go before the girls scatter," Logan said, grabbing the base and heading out the door.

The guys all nodded and began to leave, wishing one another good luck.

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Lance wasn't surprised at all when Logan stopped him on his way to his jeep. He'd been expecting the stout and impossibly strong man to pound him ever since Lance sent Kitty tumbling from that tree.

"You hurt her bub. No one does that to Half Pint without a word or two from me," Logan snarled, and a powerful punch sent Lance careening into a nearby bush.

Lance however, was very surprised when a small hand took his, pulling him out of the bush.

"Can't say you didn't have that coming Alvers," Kitty said roughly.

"Yea no kidding. Kitty, look, I know that nothing I say can ever take back-"

Kitty cut Lance off, shaking her head.

"Enough with the apologies, I forgive you. I was shocked that you would do that, but I can't let our relationship end this way," Kitty began.

"Does our relationship have to end?" Upon Kitty's raised eyebrow Lance tried again.

"I meant our friendship. I know the dating part of our relationship is pretty much shot to hell, but I've come to terms to that now."

Kitty nodded slowly. "No, we're still friends. We've gone through too much not to be friends Lance."

Lance sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Yea, us dating never really worked. Besides, I'm pretty sure your parents hate me."

"Well, you did try and kill them Lance," Kitty laughed a little. Lance gave her a slight lopsided grin.

"I knew, that day I first met you, that it would never work out Kitty. I wanted it too, and I did try. Hell I even joined the spandex clan, but I can't change. I know you gave me a chance Kitty, a chance I didn't deserve, and I never meant to hurt you, but- damn it Kitten you've rubbed off on me, I'm rambling," Lance sighed. He was never one for words but Kitty had always been able to understand what he meant, no matter how much he stumbled and talked in circles.

Kitty smiled gently. "You don't have to explain Lance. I'm glad you're still in my life."

With that, Kitty turned around and walked back into the mansion.

She was a hero, she was the Pryde of the X-Men. Lance knew he didn't have a place in her life, never did and never would, but he hoped that, even for a little while, he did have a place in her heart. She sure had found one in his.

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"Why do you two want to come?" Amara demanded of Bobby and Sam, who were both smiling innocently at her. Jubilee came up to them, a basket in her arms and an equally suspicious look on her face.

"Yea, shouldn't you be planning your next prank Vanilla Ice?" Jubilee asked.

"Cause, the last time you two went out on the bay alone, you got stuck and we had to rescue you, so we're just cutting out the middle man,' Bobby said brightly as he took the basket from Jubilee.

"Fine, but you're rowing," Amara snapped as she led the way down to the dock.

An hour later and they were in the middle of the bay, laughing and complaining about how hot it was.

"Stop your whining," Amara laughed at Bobby, basking in the heat and the sun.

"I'm ice for god sakes! Not Magma like you," Bobby grumbled as he created a pair of ice sunglasses.

"In Nova Roma, weather was always like this, sunny and perfect."

"Well, in Kentucky, it was always a lot drier, not nearly as muggy," Sam put in as they all began reminiscing about their homes.

"What was it like going home Jubilee?" Amara asked the chinese girl, referring to when her parents pulled her out of the school after it had blown up.

"Weird," jubilee began. "At home I'm not nearly as outspoken as I am here, so i had to keep myself in check constantly. My parents grew up in China, where kids are meant to be seen not spoken, so I clash with them occasionally. I missed it here, though I have to admit that the party scene in California is a lot wilder," Jubilee began, leaning over the side to dip her hand in the water, watching as it slid through her fingers.

"It's great to have you back Juby," Bobby said, smiling.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to help with Apocalypse. We were all meant to be a team, but I wasn't here for you," Jubilee began softly.

"It's alright, it wasn't your fault. That was horrible though, having to watch Jean and the Professor fight like that," Amara sighed, shaking her head at the memory.

"I know, i thought Storm had killed Ray," Bobby added as a shudder passed through him. Ray had been unbelievable that day, he'd distracted Storm as best he could, and ended up being electrocuted for it.

"And what about you farm boy? No thrilling tales?" Jubilee joked at Sam.

"Nah, not really. I was with Rouge and after she absorbed leech, I had to get her into the Sphinx so she could shut down Apocalypse. I know what you mean Jubilee, having to take the sidelines while your friends are fighting is never an easy thing," Sam sighed.

"We all made it through though, and we're all back together," Bobby said, sliding an arm around Jubilee.

"I wonder what's in store for us. It's been so peaceful lately, it can't last," Amara mused, tossing a piece of bread to the fish.

Bobby and Sam exchanged worried glances.

"Mara, whatever we do encounter, it'll be done as a team," Sam said reassuringly.

"But how long are we going to be a team? We'll grow up, grow apart. Leave, and start our own lives. What we have now, that houseful of mix matched mutants can't last," Jubilee sighed, gazing at the mansion.

"It can for now, until we do have to leave when we're ready. But we're not ready yet, none of us are. Look at Scott and Jean, they're still not ready," Bobby said softly.

The four sat silently, thinking back on the last year since they'd met.

"I never thought life could be like this," Sam began. "Growing up on a farm, it's a pretty simple life. What a difference."

Amara nodded. "I thought my life would just be being a princess, and leading my people, then all this happened."

Jubilee grinned. "It is pretty amazing though. I mean really amazing."

"I wonder what will happen to us," Bobby began.

"Simple, we live, we fight, if we're lucky we love and then we die," Jubilee laughed a little. "It's the same thing that happens to everybody, mutant or not. We're really not that different.'

Sam laughed a little. "Since when did you become a philosopher?"

As a reply Jubilee splashed Sam, who returned the gesture with much zeal, soaking Bobby in the process.

"Guys," Amara warned, clinging onto the side of the small rowboat. "The boat, don't you dare capsize the-"

The boat went topsy turvy as Jubilee and Bobby both lunged to avoid the water Sam was directing at them and with a splash they all ended up in the bay, laughing and still splashing each other.

"Oh for the love of God," Amara yelped right before Jubilee dunked her.


	10. Names and Equations

'I'm paranoid,' Rouge chided herself as she briskly continued walking. Kitty was beside her, seemingly just as much on edge as Rouge was.

'I'm not being watched, I'm not being watched,' Rouge repeated to herself as she clutched her book more tightly. Normally Rouge would never let herself get worked up, she knew how to handle herself, but this eerie feeling had been going on for three days now and Rouge could tell she wasn't the only one. All the girls kept glancing over their shoulders, hearing rustling in the bushes, feeling unseen eyes watching their every move.

Even while Kitty and Rouge had been in the bookstore Rouge could have sworn she had heard a certain Cajun whispering behind a bookshelf, but when she had gone to check it out, no one was there.

They came up to the gates of the mansion and Kitty, apparently to impatient to wait for the slow gates, took Rouge's hand and phased them through.

"Kitty," Rouge hissed, glancing around as they trotted up the driveway.

Kitty cut her off with her own whispered reply. "Yea, I know. Weird."

"No kidding," Rouge mumbled as she made her way to the door. She paused when she saw that Kitty wasn't behind her.

"Coming?"

Kitty shook her head. "No, I'm going to stay out here and read for a bit, it's a beautiful night."

Rouge shrugged her shoulders and entered the house, hearing the sounds of the residents. Peaking into the rec room, she saw Rahne, Jamie, and Sam playing a game as Amara and Roberto looked on in bored contentment.

She smiled slightly, seeing Jamie happy to be included in something with the older kids.

Rouge trudged up the steps, though still felt eyes tracing her every move. Opening the door to the room she shared with Kitty, Rouge placed her book on her nightstand and stretched out on her bed, her fingers finding the same playing card that she kept under her pillow.

"So Chere," an accented French drawl came from the doorway. "Still have the card I gave you?"

Rouge cringed. Figures the damn thief had already sneaked into her room and poked around.

"No, don't you remember? You tried to kill me and it blew up after you gave it to me," Rouge snapped, referring to the card Remy had placed in her hands the first time that they met, right before the X-Men had to fight the Sentinel.

"You know very well which card I mean Rouge, and by the way, if I had wanted to kill you, I would have," Remy said, an edge of bitter hurt in his voice.

"That's comforting to know," Rouge muttered.

Remy came into the room, turning Rouge' desk chair so that he could straddle it.

"Chere," He murmured, his large hand resting on top of Rouge's gloved hand. His fingers ran over hers, a slow and relaxing rhythm as his black on red eyes gazed into her green ones.

"Why are you doing this?" Rouge managed to ask, his demon eyes stripping her of her facade, forcing her to realize and accept what Remy already knew. That Rouge was his, however impossible them being together was.

"What am I doing? I'm being with you Chere," Remy answered with a slight smile.

Rouge gazed down at their connected hands, a deep ache in her chest to just feel his skin with nothing in between. Feel _him. _

'It can't happen,' Rouge reminded herself as she pulled her hand away, though Remy's held her, keeping her hand tightly in his.

"I meant what are you doing with me? Why are you trying to get close to me?" Rouge asked, forcing herself to look into his eyes

"Why are you trying to stop me?"

"Because nothing good can come from it Remy," Rouge said firmly.

Remy chuckled a little. "Nothing good? Everything good can come from it."

Rouge shook her head. "No, you're wrong."

Remy let out a sigh. "How does it feel right now Rouge?"

"How does what feel?"

"Distancing yourself so far from the world, so far from other people. Does it make you feel safe, secure, let alone happy?"

Rouge looked up at him in shock. How did her actions make her feel? Certainly not happy.

"Alone. It makes me feel alone." She barely whispered her answer, just breathed it gently.

Remy nodded. He'd never seen Rouge so vulnerable and he wanted nothing more then pull her into him and comfort her but he knew he'd be slapped silly if he even tried.

"It doesn't have to be that way Rouge," Remy whispered.

"There's no other way that it can be."

"Maybe physically, but there's more to people then the physical. I wish you would see that, because you're missing out on a lot. And I don't just mean with me, with everyone. With the whole world, and they're missing out on a lot too Rouge. Open yourself up to someone, you have to," He pressed.

Rouge shook her head. "I do. Kitty and Kurt, I'm close to them." Rouge thought on her best friend and her brother, two very odd people, who weren't afraid of her. Who no doubt loved her for all she was. Sure it had taken a while, a long while really. But she adored her adopted brother and now considered Kitty to be her best friend. They were the closest thing to family that Rouge had ever had and though she would never admit it in public, she adored them.

Remy chuckled in a bittersweet manner. "You and Kurt bonded over having a horrible mother and Chaton probably had to beg you to be friends with her and wouldn't leave you alone. And other then those two, you don't allow anyone close Chere."

"And why do you care so much?"

Remy smiled a bit and leaned forward, his lips ghosting against her cheek, sending a chill down Rouge's back.

"I care, because i simply do. Because I understand what being a loner really means. I can't explain what draws me to you, but I see in you, something I've never seen in anyone else before." Remy said slowly, losing all the charm that he was so well known for. He stood up and turned, heading for the door. "Good night Rouge."

"Marie."

Remy paused and turned to look at Rouge.

"My name, real name, is Marie." Rouge had only ever told Kurt and Kitty her real name, but asked them to never call her it in public, or even private. That person that was Marie, was dead to Rouge now. Was gone and buried deep within Rouge, a painful reminder of what she used to be, of the dreams that a carefree child envisions for themselves.

Remy smiled. "Marie. I like that. Beau Marie."

And Remy left, leaving Rouge alone, but feeling not quite as lonely.

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Kitty sat on the bench among some of the trees of the institute, reading silently to herself. A distinct scent wafted through the air and Kitty quirked her eyebrow, eyes still on her novel.

"Ya know, Ray, you can stop hiding from me now. I'm not nearly as dangerous as they say," she joked nonchalantly.

An embarrassed Ray stepped out from behind a tree, a cigarette held in his lips. He took a long drawl and held the smoke in his lungs before breathing out, watching the smoke dance and twirl in front of him.

"Remy get you hooked again?" Kitty asked casually, still seemingly enthralled in her novel.

Ray listened to hear the condescending tone everyone took while talking to him about smoking. Scott with his holier then thou attitude, or Amara's slight disgust or Bobby's 'you should really quit, it's not healthy' (Ray always had to bite back the want to say, 'Yea, well neither is being attacked by people who want to kill you') but was surprised when he heard none of it. Kitty was a health nut, eating vegetarian and doing all sorts of physical activity like yoga or dancing. He'd half expected her to run away from him screaming about tar lungs and holes in throats.

"Yea he kinda did. I'll put it out," Ray said as he pulled the cigarette from his mouth.

Kitty shrugged and put down her book. "Lance smokes, it doesn't bother me anymore."

Ray nodded before moving closer to Kitty. "Mind if I sit?"

"Not at all." Kitty smiled as he sat down next to her. She'd always liked Ray, there was something rough about him but undeniably loyal. When Bobby wasn't around, he immediately took leadership of the New Recruits, though he denied being leader material. She'd watch him when she and Jean would make up a simulation for the recruits, he was a good fighter, fierce and determined, but somehow still broken, not quite confident in his abilities.

"So, are you going to tell me why all the guys have us girls tagged?" Kitty asked.

Ray smiled slightly. "I guess we're not as sneaky as we thought."

"Yea, you're really not. But you're a change, I've had Kurt on my tail for the last two days," Kitty laughed.

"Yea, he's been kinda insistent on tracking you, almost as bad as Scott is with Jean," Ray mumbled.

"So what's going on? Why have you all turned into stalkers?"

Ray sighed. He felt bad about invading the girls privacy and his conscious was rather heavy ever since he'd seem a bit too much of Jubilee last night. He was tracking her when she had gone to use the gym to practice her gymnastics, but decided that doing all those funky twists, turns and flips was more fun in her underwear and bra. Of course he'd enjoyed the show, but he seriously felt like a creep lurking around in the shadows. He also had the mission impossible theme song playing on a loop in his head as he dodged behind trees and rolled around, trying to keep the girl at his one o'clock always.

"I can't tell you," Ray said reluctantly.

Kitty studied him for a second. "Alright, promise me something though."

"What's that?"

"Obviously, whatever you guys are trying to protect us helpless dames from is serious. But keep yourselves safe too," she said.

Ray glanced at her. "Sure we will Kitty, but you girls are going to be what's first on our minds."

Kitty chuckled a bit. "You men and your testosterone, spending way too much time with Logan."

Ray smirked a bit. "What are you reading?"

"Lord of the Flies," Kitty responded, turning the book so the cover faced Ray.

"Sounds gross," Ray gagged a bit. He hated insects with a passion.

"It's not about flies, it's about true human nature. What people are really like when all the chips are down and people become desperate" Kitty said.

"And what are people like?"

"Bad. Selfish, and ruthless," Kitty began, sighing a bit.

"Do you think that's true?" Ray asked. Kitty was an optimist by nature, she believed in beauty and goodness. Ray couldn't say that he agreed with her. He had seen more then the sheltered girl had and humanity was tainted to him.

"Yes, I do. Maybe not that people are bad, but that we are selfish, thinking of only ourselves first. I don't believe that there is truly a selfless act," Kitty began slowly.

"What do you mean? There are selfless acts," Ray countered, thinking of people who gave everything for certain causes. Martin Luther King, Dalai Lama and Ghandi came to Ray's mind.

"Not really. Say for example that I had to sacrifice my life for something. Would you call that selfless?"

"Well yea, you gave yourself for the greater good," Ray responded, becoming confused.

"Right, but I would do that because if I didn't do it, then I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Because I felt it was the right thing to do, that's not being selfless, that's being completely self fulfilling. People search for happiness, and every single action we take or thing we do is to make us, ourselves, happy. I'd gladly die for those I love, as I'm sure you would too, because if I didn't, then I wouldn't be happy. We do what makes us happy, no matter what the price," Kitty attempted to explain her perspective on human attitude.

Ray nodded slowly. "I see what you mean. Everything we do, we do for ourselves, even if we do it for other people."

"Yea, that's human nature. It all just depends on what will make you happy. But no human in the world is any less selfish then any other."

"I've never thought of it like that before," Ray said slowly. They sat in silence, pondering human nature.

Ray smoked his cigarette slowly, savoring the stale taste. He put the cigarette out and pulled out his pack of cigarettes, placing the butt in the pack.

He liked lounging around with Kitty. Seeing a part of her she showed only to Kurt or Rouge. For some reason he knew she was at ease around him, relaxed and real, which surprised Ray. Usually people felt like they needed to put on act around him because of his exterior. Ray's hair was different, died orange and spiked and he also had his ears pierced. Girls would try and act tough around him, as though they were really bad ass. So Ray often found himself surrounded by wannabe Tabitha's. Ray was a tough new York city native, different from Bobby who had grown up in upper class Boston, or the quiet and mysterious Roberto. And Sam was basically his total opposite, a quiet, shy and sweet farm boy. He liked all the guys for the most part, though it had taken him a bit to warm up to Roberto and Scott.

The ear piece on his ear crackled to life and Ray let out a yelp.

"Ray, how's Kitty?" Nightcrawler demanded.

Ray fumbled with his watch, cursing, while Kitty looked at him strangely.

"She's fine Kurt," Ray said into the small mic at the side of the watch as Kitty said 'oh' in comprehension.

"Nothing suspicious?" Kurt pressed again.

Ray rolled his eyes. "Don't you trust me? She's safe and sound man."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm sure! Go bother Remy, I think he ditched Rouge," Ray said, exasperated.

"Was!? Nightcrawler over and out, and take care of Katzchen!" The link between the two communicator cut out and Ray let out a sigh of relief.

"Did Remy really leave Rouge?" Kitty asked, concern in her voice.

"Nah," Ray smiled. "That was the only thing I could say that would get him off my back."

Kitty laughed a little and tilted her eyes toward the night sky, recalling all the times when she and Kurt would sit on his balcony rail (well Kurt would sit while Kitty would cling on to him for dear life) and watch the world pass them by. She supposed that there was always something there between them, even when she liked Lance and Kurt was dating Amanda. Something so deep that it felt like it resided next to her soul. And then through everything it become more and more pronounced and she held to it more desperately. With every other guy she liked it was different. They made her feel giddy and she'd dream of them, turning them into something so that they could fit in with the kind of future she'd envision for herself. She never did that with Kurt. She just knew he would be in her life always, and he didn't turn her into a giddy nervous pile of goo when he smiled at her. He turned her into a woman, someone strong and confident. As she grew and matured, she found that she liked that feeling better. It felt like an anchor that kept her grounded, giving her the strength she needed everyday or while they were facing a life or death situation. While fighting, one glance at Kurt by her side and she knew that she would make it through, that she still had too much life ahead of her to lie down and die in that battle. Her love for Kurt may be unrequited, but it still kept her alive.

"What do you think about when you look at the stars?" Ray asked, searching her face and then turning to the stars, looking as though he was trying to figure out a mystery.

"Everything. Why do you ask?"

Ray shrugged. "People seem to think looking up at a night sky while thinking about a problem will help them. In the city you don't see stars so when I came here I tried star gazing, it doesn't work for me. I mean they're pretty and all but I was still confused about my problems."

Kitty smiled a little. "I don't look at them to find solutions. Everyone has problems and questions about life, and we want answers. And then you look at the stars and the planets, and you wonder, how did it happen? Or how far does it keep going for? All that up there seems unbelievably impossible, but somehow it's there, and of course we question. Thousands of questions about that infinite space. And then you hardly think about your own concerns. It's like weighing an equation against an equation," Kitty said. She loved studying space, and astrophysics was one of her favorite classes.

"And long after we're gone, and the world faces new problems and prejudice, then those people will look at the stars and find some comfort too, comfort that the impossible is doable."

Ray nodded slowly. He could understand how that felt, finding solace anywhere you could get it. Trying to find beauty in life, whether it be in an object, or a scenic view, or a person. He saw the way Scott would look at Jean, it was the same look that Kurt fixed on Kitty, and even Remy now held that look for Rouge. Ray had seen it while they dodged conspicuously around the bookstore, earning glares from the bookkeeper. Rouge had been heading for the vampire novella as Kitty found the classics. They'd lost sight of Rouge for a few minutes and Remy's red eyes were filled with worry. Then Remy had 'the look' when Rouge emerged from behind a high shelf, flipping through her retrieved book. Ray wondered if he would ever look at a girl like that. He wondered if he would ever want to. He knew his friends, all of his friends, hearts would break, that's just the price you pay for falling in love. Perhaps Ray could love like them, maybe it would even be worth it.

Ray sighed and looked back up at the stars, weighing an equation against an equation and looking for comfort.


	11. Crazy Canuck thinks he's a Cowboy

Hi, thanks to my reviewers Ondjage and Hellfirefanatic. I was considering not continuing the story, but you inspired me and now I'm back on it again! And Ondjage, unfortunatly Rouge isn't immune to the Animusereptur and you'll find out later why :) Thanks for reading

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Jean drummed her fingers against the wood of the dining room table, glaring fiercely around the room. Her eyes fell on Scott, who sat next to her. He shifted a little and she could feel his eyes on her from behind his sunglasses. She then turned to Bobby who's humming was the only sound slicing through the thick silence of the room. She noticed Jubilee glaring at him from her seat. Roberto was twirling his pasta on his fork nervously as Remy sat casually in his chair, an arm draped across the back of Rouge's, which Rouge seemed set and determined to ignore or chop off, Jean wasn't sure. Jean's eyes rested on each of the guys faces, feeling the surreptitious waves that they were giving off and the suspicious ones the girls were radiating. Bobby's humming continued and the air thickened more so.

Logan wasn't yet home and Storm had gone to visit Evan, something she had been doing an awful lot these days. The Professor and Mr. McCoy sat at the ends of the table, both seemingly unaware of the tension. But Jean was very aware of it. And so was Amara.

"Oh for god sakes!" amara yelled, flaring into her Magma form and leaping up. Bobby ceased his humming and put out her fiery chair as Amara recovered and sizzled back, though she was still glaring and red with pent up fury.

"Amara, is something bothering you dear?" The professor asked, bringing his fingertips together, unconcerned for the scorched piece of furniture that was now incased in ice.

Amara opened her mouth but was cut off by Rhane.

"Yes Professor something is the matter, we're being followed," she said, calmly and rationally as she nodded towards the guys who sank into their chairs. They really were bad at the whole tracking thing, Sam especially. He was known for being a klutz and only got less graceful the more nervous he got. Imagine Amara's surprise when she saw Sam pummel through her bedroom wall as she dressed for the day. Poor boy now spotted some painful looking burns.

"Followed," the Professor repeated the word with a skeptical tone.

"Yes, followed," Jean put in. "Like them tiptoeing around, shoving themselves in odd random places, whispering to no one-"

"Professor," Scott said, wincing at Jean's glare as he interrupted her tirade. "I think the jig is up."

"You two are in on it!" Kitty cried, looking from Mr. McCoy to the Professor. "And I bet Mr. Logan is too!"

"Ah wondered why he sniffed me..." Rouge muttered.

"No, that was to make sure Remy kept his hands to himself- Ow!" Bobby sniggered but flinched a moment later, rubbing the spot were Remy had kicked him from underneath the table.

"My young ladies, perhaps this is for your safety?" the Professor said serenely as everyone abandoned attempts at eating, plates pushed forward and silverware placed on the table.

"Safety?" Jubilee spoke up. "What do you mean safety? What do we need safety from?"

"We can take care of ourselves," Rouge scowled. She never had to be taken care of, her whole life. Even when she was living with Irene she took care of herself, and because of Irene's blindness, she often took care of other things as well. Rouge was a girl who could handle herself and wasn't to keen on having someone appoint themselves as her body guard, especially without her knowledge.

"Just let us do this okay?" Scott said, coming very close to pleading as he took Jean's hand.

"Are you going to tell us what's such a big threat?" Jubilee demanded, referring back to her previously unanswered question.

The guys eyes flickered to the professor who shook his head.

"I'm afraid not," the Professor began, and held up his hand to silence the cries of protest, both mentally and verbally, from all the girls. "Trust me when I say that if you will need to be informed of any threat,t hat we will inform you."

The girls nodded mutely, angry about being left out of what was going, but knew better then to argue it anymore. When the professor raised his eyebrow, the end was confirmed. But the girls would be damned if they let this continue.

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"We do not need bodyguards!" Rouge yelled for the fifth time that morning, addressing the group of guys who were standing in front of the door, blocking the girls exit.

"Look, now that you know what we've been up to, just let us accompany you, carry your bags or whatever. I'm tired of people looking at me all strangely as I run around like a stalker," Bobby sighed, grimacing at the memory of an elderly woman telling him off for 'checking out' Rahne the day before.

"No, we're not bringing you along with us. We can take care of ourselves, we've been training for months for stuff like this!" Amara said firmly.

"You're treating us like children," jubilee whined, looking as though she was ready to stomp her feet.

"No, we're treating you like you're in danger, which you are!" Scott corrected.

"And _you_ won't even tell us what the danger is!" Jean hissed.

"Why do you think you can protect us better then we can protect ourselves?" Rouge demanded, shooting Remy a glare. He of all people should now that she could kick ass, especially after he absconded her and took her to New Orleans, where he almost got them killed!

"Yea, seriously. We'll be fine!" Kitty added with a defiant hint of petulance.

"Liebes, bitte," Kurt pleaded with her gently, eyes going wide and tail tickling her arm.

"Don't go all cute German elf on me Kurt Christof Wagner!" Kitty snapped, though she made no attempt to remove his tail.

"And just what are you guys trying to say? That we can't take care of ourselves?" Jubilee demanded. "Because we so can!" She stuck out her tongue to add emphasis. Sam retorted with a mature showing of his own tongue.

Scott tried to amend the situation before it turned into the Battle of the Sexes Third Edition. The first edition was the infamous time of the Sirens and the second edition started with Roberto asking the girls if they could iron his shirts and it turned into a snowball fight that rivaled all other snowball fights in the history of the mansion, or possibly in mutant kind. Scott was honestly terrified to find out where this supposed sexist crime that the guys were committing against the girls would lead them now.

"Look we don't mean you aren't able to defend yourselves, we'd just feel much safer if we were around," Scott said in what he hoped was a soothing tone.

"Because you don't trust us or abilities," Rhane said calmly.

"Now we never said that, vous femmes folles," Remy mumbled.

Rouge, Jean and Kitty each fixed him with a hard glare.

"Kitty and I know French for your information," rouge snapped.

Remy glanced at Jean, wondering to himself how she knew what he said.

"I'm a telepath, and not adverse to reading your mind right now. Invade our privacy, I invade yours," Jean practically growled. "Oh and Bobby, if you're so curious about what color underwear she has on then why don't you just ask her."

Bobby flushed at this as all the girls scowled.

"So that's what we are to you? Either Damsels in Distress or something to ogle at?" Amara snapped.

"I thought you actually respected us! Well fine, we'll earn your respect then, even though we shouldn't have to!" Jubilee said.

The girls turned and headed for their rooms.

"Meet us at the football field in 10 minutes. Then we'll see who's really in danger!" Jean said.

The guys all sighed.

"Well, at least they didn't leave the house," Ray muttered.

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The guys stood in the middle of the field, wearing shorts and t shirts, waiting for the girls.

"It might royally piss them off when we win, but we are not being humiliated," Scott said firmly. "Go gentle on them, so we beat them but not kill them."

"I don't get why we can't play soccer," Roberto mumbled, recalling how he was olympic material before his mutation.

"We're going with good ole classic American right now Rob," Bobby said.

"Oh damn," Sam mumbled, looking past Scott. "They look _pissed."_

The guys turned to see the group of girls, marching towards them from the house. They were dressed in tank tops and shorts, with black smudges underneath their eyes. Rouge wore only short shorts and a sports bra, her pale skin had danger written all over it. Their jaws were set in raw determination as they joined the guys on the field, the only recognition they gave the opposite sex was a curt nod before they huddled, planning their attack.

The guys gulped, though none of them would admit what they were thinking right then. That this was going to be a lot harder, and possibly more painful, then they had thought.

"And so begins Battle of the Sexes Third Edition," Scott said as he glanced forlornly at the girls huddle. Jean raised her fiery head and glared at him, a glare that promised a world of hurt.

"Alright, this operation is called Beat the Boys," Jean began as she returned to her huddle once more.

"Beat the Boys?" Rouge repeated with a scoff. "Gee now I know why your code name is Jean."

Rahne and Amara let out a small chuckle.  "Oh like Rouge is any better? And Magma, _real _creative Amara," Jubilee giggled.

"I personally think that everyone's code names are dumb," Kitty put in. "I mean Cyclops, really? Who does Scott think he is, Polyphemus (1)?"

"Well Shadowcat is just so _witty_," Amara said sarcastically.

"It's cute and makes sense," Kitty growled.

"Alright, we can discuss code names later. Right now we need to focus our frustration on the guys. They're not getting away with this!" Jean said, flipping her red braid over her shoulder.

"Right, so how are we gonna do this?" Rouge asked.

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The rules were very much like the rules that applied to all physical games at the institute. Powers were allowed, though used in moderation. Remy had decided that football wasn't quite his thing, so he took the job as ref which effectively evened the teams out. Both teams had one touchdown and one field goal (Jean was the kicker for her team and Roberto was for his) after twenty minutes of play.

"I just don't think it's fair!" Bobby argued after Kitty scored another touchdown after a very good handoff from Rahne, who had snatched the ball from Sam with her canine jaws.

Kitty had made a show of leisurely sauntering up the field in her phased state, laughing as the guys fell through her and tried to clutch at air.

"It's no different then Kurt getting the ball and porting to the end-zone!" Amara countered.

"Remy, you're suppose to be the referee! Come settle this!" Rouge demanded at the man who stood at the sidelines with a smirk.

"Bien, Chaton and Bleu can't score touchdowns from now on. They can get as far as the ten yard line then have to pass the ball," Remy said logically and both teams grumbled agreement.

Rouge proved to be a very valuable asset in offense. A good portion of her skin was bare, making anyone leery of tackling her. Roberto was very feared when he was on defense so often if the girls would see him heading their way, they'd drop the ball and tuck into the fetal position. Kurt was also a key player. He'd often port right in front of the alarmed girl and tackle them while his tail would deftly snatch the ball away. Cannonball had taken out one of the field-goal post, not during his actual making of the touchdown but right after during his showboating dance. The field was constantly being covered in ice (courtesy of bobby who was trying to make the girls slip) and had to be melted by Amara several times and everyone felt a little tremors of static shock run through them from time to time, thanks to Ray. The damage was building to catastrophic by the time they'd reached 30 seconds left of play.

"Okay, last play girls. It's tied, 21-21. This is it," Jean said, looking at the disheveled and sweaty girls. "Let's prove to them just how tough we are."

The girls nodded and got into position, Jubilee crouched with the football resting on the ground, ready to pass it to Jean and tackle whatever guy was planning on blitzing their quarterback.

The ball was snapped and everyone flew into motion. Rouge took off down the field as Rahne stood growling and dodging Scott's eye blasts. Kitty had latched herself onto Kurt's back so that whenever he ported somewhere to tackle a teammate of hers, she'd make them incorporeal. Jean drew her arm back and threw the ball using her telekinesis to guide it and also toss Roberto out of Rouge's way. Rouge snatched the ball. Kurt, with Kitty clinging to his back, suddenly appeared in front of her, though she paid no mind and ran right through them. Sam was the only who blocked her way.

"Only two places you can tackle me, which is it gonna be?" Rouge asked, gesturing to her bare legs and arms and midriff.

Sam shifted uncomfortably, a blush evident on his face. Tackle Rouge and practically molest her or allow the girls to win? He decided on the option that wouldn't get him slapped and stepped out of Rouge's way with a resigned sigh.

"See Sam, you've got the southern gentleman charm," Rouge smiled as she stepped by him and into the end-zone, declaring the girls the victors.

"Still think we can't take care of ourselves?" Jean challenged as the girls celebrated their victory.

"This still doesn't mean we're going to let you walk around on your own!" Scott said hurriedly, trying to cover the shame in his voice.

Jubilee rolled her eyes. "Whatever Scott, we proved what we needed to."

The girls turned and headed for the mansion.

Remy, not really having any part in the guys defeat, was snickering as he shook his head and followed the girls, complimenting them on their victory.

"Well, that didn't go quite as planned," Scott said dryly, his pride hurting more then his back (which Jubilee sent a stream of fireworks at). Roberto glowered and powered up, squashing the football between his hands like a grape.

"Next time, we are definitely playing soccer."

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"You know, we need theme songs," Jubilee said. The teens had spent the last three days straight with one another and were quickly running out of things to do or talk about. Their butts had been whipped by Remy in all card games, no one could agree on movies and the guys were officially against any sort of physical challenge against the girls ever since they had gotten their asses handed to them by the girls. So laying around was pretty much all they had been doing all day. And now Jubilee decided theme songs were in order.

"Theme songs?" Bobby asked with a chuckle. He was reclining in a chair, making ice disks that Amara would melt with a flick of her hand.

"Yea, let me grab my laptop," Jubilee was off her butt in a second and ran up to her room.

"Theme songs?" Remy said, quirking an eyebrow. "Now what in de hell do we need theme songs for?"

"So we can kick the Brotherhood asses will still keeping a beat!" Amara laughed, showering Sam with the watery remains of yet another ice disk.

"Come on, let's go to the danger room!" Jubilee demanded from the doorway, giggling madly.

"Do we have anything better to do?" Roberto sighed as the 12 mutants obediently followed Jubilee. They found her sitting crossed legged on the danger room floor, her laptop plugged into the wall.

"So," she smiled brightly. "Who's first?"

"And whoever the song is for, has to dance!" Kitty laughed as she went to a panel on the wall and began typing. The danger room lights dimmed and swirling colored lights began circling around while a cylinder platform in the middle of the room came from the ground, a bright spot light on it. The room had turned into an epileptic's worst nightmare.

"Oh dear god," Scott mumbled as the guys began edging towards the door.

"How about we dedicate this one to all the guys!" Jean said giggling as she whispered in Jubilee's ear, who immediately started laughing. The other girls pulled the protesting guys to the stage.

"Hit it Jubilee!" Kitty demanded as she forced Roberto up and onto the stage.

**Body...wanna feel my body? **

**Body...such a thrill my body **

**Body...wanna touch my body? **

**Body...it's too much my body **

**Check it out my body, body. **

**Don't you doubt my body, body. **

**talkin' bout my body, body, **

**check it out my body **

"This is beyond humiliating," Ray moaned as the girls looked expectantly at them.

"Dude just get into it! Yea you wanna touch my body!" Bobby yelled, dancing poorly as Kurt moonwalked.

**Hey! Hey! Hey, hey, hey! **

**Macho, macho man (macho man) **

**I've got to be, a macho man **

**Macho, macho man **

**I've got to be a macho! Ow....**

The girls were now absolutely rolling as Scott started getting into it, turning his backside to the crowd of girls and shaking what little he had.

"Remy!" Rahne shouted. "We all know you've got one hot ass now shake it!"

**Macho, macho man **

**I've got to be, a macho man **

**Macho, macho man (yeah, yeah) **

**I've got to be a macho**!

"I love our guys!" Amara admitted as all the guys now beginning moving to the beat.

The song cut off and Jubilee yelled, "Bobby's solo!"

The guys laughed and clapped Bobby on the shoulder as they jumped down from the stage.

"Give it your worst Juby!" Bobby said, an amused smirk on his face. He was the resident attention whore of the guys and didn't mind having all female eyes on him.

A collection of groans arose as the music played.

**Ice ice baby **

**Ice ice baby**

**All right stop collaborate and listen **

**Ice is back with my brand new invention **

**Something grabs a hold of me tightly **

**Flow like a harpoon daily and nightly **

**Will it ever stop yo I don't know **

**Turn off the lights and I'll glow **

**To the extreme I rock a mic like a vanda**l

Bobby had taken off his shirt, tossed it to Jubilee, and was fully iced up, dancing like a true white man.

"Oh merde," Remy mumbled, covering his eyes as Sam cringed.

Bobby's solo dance ended with mutual sighs of relief and appreciative cheers.

Alan Jackson's Country boy came on and Sam blushed fiercely, shaking his head.

**Excuse me ma'am, I saw you walkin'**

**I turned around, I'm not a stalker**

**Where you goin? Maybe I can help ya**

**My tank is full, and I'd be obliged to take ya**

Sam had now been forced onstage and sighing he began slowing rotating his hips, the girls cheers edging him on. By nature he was a shy and reserved guy, but peer pressure eventually got to him.

**I'm a country boy, I've got a 4 wheel drive**

**Pile in my bed, I can take ya for a ride **(he even winked suggestively at Amara)

**Up city streets, down country roads**

**I can get ya where you need to go**

**Cause I'm a country boy**

Sam was more then relieved to be off the stage and roughly pushed Roberto, who had been laughing the most at him, towards the stage.

"Oh Rob, we have a treat for you!" Rhane giggled as she and Jubilee went back to the computer.

**Burn baby burn! Burn baby burn! Burn baby burn! Burn baby burn!**

**Burnin'!**

"That is so cheesy," Scott muttered to Kurt, who was laughing anyway.

**Burn baby burn! - Disco inferno!**

**Burn baby burn! - Burn that mama down**

**Burn baby burn! - Disco inferno!**

**Burn baby burn! - Burn that mama down**

**Burnin'!**

Roberto was sticking to basic disco moves, the lawn mower and sprinkler seemed to be his favorites.

"He needs dancing lessons," Kitty laughed as Roberto continued his jive.

At the end of the song, Scott had to be forced onto the stage using Jean's telekinesis.

"Take it easy on me," He pleaded, though knew the girls would spare no mercy. Ever since they guys had refused to let them go around own their own, they had been prime targets for torture. And not telling the girls the reason for their leech like ways only fueled the fire.

**I wear my sunglasses at night**

**So I can, so I can**

**Watch you weave**

**Then breathe your story lines**

**And I wear my sunglasses at night**

**So I can, so I can**

**Keep track of the visions in my eyes**

Scott moaned and shook his head. Suddenly his body began moving on it's own accord.

"Jean!"

"Well, if you're not going to dance then I'll do it for you!" Jean said, her right index keeping the beat, forcing his hips to follow with it.

Scott sighed and resigned himself to Jean's will, moving his arms occasionally as his hips swiveled like a Dyson vacuum.

After Scott had finished his song it was Ray's turn. And what better song for the electric man then the electric slide, which he performed with amazing ability.

Kurt hesitantly stood on the stage. Who knows what song these crazy girls had picked for him. As all the flashing and twirling lights in the room turned blue, Kurt figured out what song would be dedicated to him.

**Yo listen up here's a story**

**About a little guy that lives in a blue world**

**And all day and all night and everything he sees**

**Is just blue like him inside and outside**

**Blue his house with a blue little window**

**And a blue corvette**

**And everything is blue for him and hisself**

**And everybody around**

**Cos he ain't got nobody to listen to**

Kurt cracked a smile at this. He had to hand it to the girls, so far their selection had been pretty damn good. Throwing caution to the wind, Kurt began dancing, reveling for once in his blueness. He even began doing the worm.

"Shake that tail Fuzzy!" Kitty called out, dancing happily herself.

**I'm blue da ba dee da ba die...**

**I have a blue house with a blue window.**

**Blue is the colour of all that I wear.**

**Blue are the streets and all the trees are too.**

**I have a girlfriend and she is so blue.**

**Blue are the people here that walk around,**

**Blue like my corvette, it's standing outside.**

**Blue are the words I say and what I think.**

**Blue are the feelings that live inside me.**

After Kurt's blue performance, Remy was the final guy for the solo male dances and he knew he was in trouble when Rouge whispered in Jubilee's ear who laughed and then typed furiously.

**Lonely im so lonely,**

**I have nobody,**

**To call my owwnnn**

**Im so lonely, im mr. Lonely**

**I have nobody, **

**To call my owwnnn**

**Im so lonely**

The pathetic and whiny chipmunk voice squeaked out of the speakers.

"Merde!" Remy cried out as Rouge doubled over in laughter. The boys of the group each snagged a random girl and began dancing with them, cheek to cheek, looking with mock pity at the abandoned Remy.

"Just kidding Remy, this one's for you!" Jubilee laughed.

**They see me rollin**

**They hatin**

**Patrolling they tryin to catch me ridin dirty**

**Tryin to catch me ridin dirty**

**Tryin to catch me ridin dirty**

**Tryin to catch me ridin dirty**

**Tryin to catch me ridin dirty**

**My music so loud**

**I'm swangin**

**They hopin that they gon catch me ridin dirty**

**Tryin to catch me ridin dirty**

**Tryin to catch me ridin dirty**

**Tryin to catch me ridin dirty**

**Tryin to catch me ridin dirty**

"Now that's more like it!" Remy yelled, extending his right arm and leaning back, making the universal move for driving as Amara grabbed the still shy and embarrassed Sam and began dancing with him.

After Remy's riding dirty performance (which had increased in dirtiness as Remy got more into his performance) the guys had now decided on a little payback.

And who better to start with then the person who had produced the ridiculous idea of theme songs?

"Now what song is for me?" Jubilee asked from her spot on the stage.

**Oh-ho-ho-ho**

**Oh-ho-ho-ho **

**Oh-ho-ho-ho**

**Oh-ho-ho-ho**

**Everybody went kung fu fighting**

**Those kicks were fast as lighting**

**In fact it was a little bit frightning**

**But they fought with expert timing**

Jubilee had decided that traditional dancing wasn't fit for this song, so was now executing very impressive kung fu spinning kicks and other moves.

"Holy shit," Bobby murmured as Jubilee did a running kick and flip.

"Dude she can kick ass," Roberto said.

Jubilee ended the song with a spinning twist flip off of the stage, grinning cheekily. She bowed to the appreciative applause of her enthralled audience.

"Rahne, show them your moves!" Amara pulled the girl to the stage.

"Kitty, I need a partner for this one," Rahne said, turning towards Kitty who blushed.

"A partner?" Ray said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Dropkick Murphy's rock version traditional celtic music, a Cadence to arms, filled the air and Rahne and Kitty broke out into a very impressive and fast paced celtic stepping dance, their legs flying and arms held perfectly still at their sides. They even managed to keep smiles plastered on their faces as they hopped and kicked around one another.

"Ya know," Jubilee began, watching in admiration as the girls spend up, their heels making delightful tapping sounds. "The Scot's made a great discovery when they invented this dance, but they really outdid themselves when they came up with kilts."

The girls giggled and glanced over at the guys, who all took a step back.

"No kilts, no!" Bobby said firmly. He may be an attention whore, but he was not a masochist nor a cross dresser.

The song ended and the girls had chosen Jean as the next victim.

**She's my cherry pie**

**Put a smile on your face**

**Ten miles wide**

**Looks so good**

**Bring a tear to your eye**

**Sweet cherry pie**

Jean moaned and buried her face.

"Oh my god," Kitty giggled. "This song is so dirty!" She emphasized that with a small shove of Scott's shoulder, who was cracking up with the rest of the guys.

Jean abandoned all modesty and had levitated herself in the air dancing and locking her eyes own Scott, who, even in the dark room, was visibly redding.

"I think she's projecting some thoughts to him," Rouge laughed.

"Like how they'll be spending tonight?" Bobby suggested with a leer.

"Ew.." Rouge murmured, shuddering slightly.

"And i think this next song is very fitting for you and Kitty," Sam said, typing on Jubilee's laptop.

Kitty and Rouge exchanged worried glances before hopping onto the stage.

**You can't touch this**

**You can't touch this**

**You can't touch this **

**You can't touch this **

**You can't touch this **

Rouge rolled her eyes. "MC Hammer, I mean really?"

"Well the lyrics do kinda make sense," Kitty laughed as she began dancing to the 80's hit.

**I told you homeboy (You can't touch this) **Rouge pointed her finger at Remy

**Yeah, that's how we living and you know (You can't touch this)**

**Look at my eyes, man (You can't touch this) **

**Yo, let me bust the funky lyrics (You can't touch this)**

Rouge and Kitty finished their dance and Amara was the last girl left.

She stood on the stage as if it was her natural perch and smiled with ease. It reminded her of the days when she would address her people as status of their princess. Of course if she ever referred to any of her mutant friends as 'her people' then she'd probably get her butt kicked.

**Hot in**

**So hot in here**

**So hot in, eh oh**

**Wanna a lil bit a eh ah**

**And a little bit a eh eh**

**Just a lil bit a eh eh**

**Just a lil bit eh eh**

Amara grinned and began swaying her body, transforming into her blazing form.

Jubilee and Kitty were proving to everybody that they knew how to dance dirty, coaxing the others to join in.

What Kitty did next surprised everyone. As she was grinding her body and moving her hands across herself suggestively, lingering in certain places, she phased out of her shirt, the sapphire blue tank top pooling around her feet to reveal her red lacy bra. Laughing wildly she kicked her shirt from her feet, and reached over and phased Jean's own shirt off.

"Kitty!" Jean yelped, trying to cover herself.

"Now that is using your power for good!" Remy said as the guys nodded an agreement.

**I said**

**It's getting hot in here (so hot)**

**So take off all your clothes**

**I am getting so hot**

**uh uh uh**

**I wanna take my clothes off**

Rahne and Jubilee were grinding together, laughing as they themselves stripped themselves of their shirts. Amara was back to her normal form, motioning for Sam to join her on stage.

Kitty had danced her way over to the guys, grabbing Ray and Kurt's shirts and phased them off, beckoning them to dance as she took Rouge's gloved hand and the two started dancing with one another. Jean and Scott were dancing close, Scott whispering things in her ear as she giggled. Remy came up to Rouge and commandeered her from Kitty's grasp. Kitty smiled at the two and blew Rouge a kiss before turning to Kurt.

Kitty placed her hands on Kurt's chest.

"I want to feel you against me Kurt," Kitty whispered in his ear, blowing gently. Kitty smirked as she felt his hands grip her hips, his thumbs brushing against her bare skin. "Dance with me."

Kitty locked eyes with Kurt, his golden orbs gleaming and his fangs showing as he flashed her a mischievous smile. Everyone else was now dancing dirty, Jubilee sandwiched between Roberto and Bobby as Rouge tauntingly danced with Remy from a safe distance.

Kitty was truly amazed at how dancing transformed her. usually she was prude, and very straight laced, but put on some music and Kitty was free, totally uninhibited.

She turned and pressed her back to Kurt's chest, marveling at the feel of his fur as she began grinding with him, slowing rotating her hips in a tantalizing way. Kurt's hands gripped her hips tighter as he began to move with her, his fingers brushing her toned stomach in a way that made Kitty burn even more. Kitty's left hand rested on Kurt's, gripping as she pushed against him harder, happy to note that Kurt was the perfect height for her. Her right arm snaked behind her shoulder, her fingers entangling in his rich dark blue hair. Kitty winked at Rahne who was keeping an appropriate distance between her and Ray, who had some okay moves himself.

Kurt's tail had weaved it's way up her leg, gripping her almost painfully. His breathe was hot against Kitty's neck, tickling her ear as Kitty threw her head back more, moving more insistently against Kurt.

It felt so good, so right to have him like this, both of them partially naked, pressed together as Kurt's hands held her to him. Kitty nearly let out a moan as his fingers slid across her stomach, sending a spark to the growing ache in her groin.

"You're dancing is bold, Liebling," Kurt's husky voice sounded in her ear and sent chills down her spine. Kitty bit back a gasp as she subconsciously tilted her head and exposed more of her neck.

"Does that bother you baby?" Kitty barely whispered in a tone that was ladened with innocence and seduction, though she knew she'd been heard.

Kurt gave a feral grin. It definitely didn't bother him. This was a new side of Kitty, and he liked her new nickname for him, he was amazed that Kitty could make such an innocent word sound so lusty. It was the way she said it in that heated and heavy tone. Kurt could only imagine what his own name would sound like if she said it in the same way, or if she moaned it. Or screamed it. Kurt fought to keep his hands in semi appropriate places, though he wanted to slip his one hand in between her legs and let the other explore her chest.

Kitty bared more of her neck for him and Kurt's had to resist the urge to kiss her below her ear, or where her pulse was, or where her neck met her shoulder. Marring that perfect skin with his nips and marks, telling all the world that he had made Kitty's body sing for him. Kitty's fingers tightened in Kurt's hair and he returned the favor by gripping her hips more firmly. Kurt felt the familiar urge to leave his mark, though he was surprised it was happening so quickly. They were hardly doing anything, just dancing and now Kurt wanted to make Kitty his own. He dipped his head down, breathing in her scent of sweat and cherry blossoms. His lips brushed against her neck and Kitty stiffened, a gasp audible. Kurt's lips pulled back, his teeth so close.

'Nein, nein...' Kurt yelled to himself. Squeezing his eyes shut, Kurt rested his forehead on Kitty's shoulder, clutching to find some self control as they continued dancing. Kurt felt where the bodies met, her back pressed to his chest, breathing in sync. Her hand on top of his, the feel of her leg flexing against his tail as she arched her back. Where he felt it most was where her shapely and firm backside pressed into him, moving with him and against him.

Kurt was almost relieved when the song ended and Kitty ceased what she was doing with her hips. He was amazed that with a few sways of her hips and Kurt could feel his self control, which he felt was one of his best attributes, slipping away from him, making him want to claim Kitty and port her to his room where he could show her some real dirty moves. Kurt knew he could never mark Kitty and unfairly bind her to him. He wanted her yes, but he loved her more.

Kitty stopped her movements, blushing madly as many of the other girls were. 'Damn, I'm a bad influence on them,' Kitty thought as Jubilee and Amara both shifted uncomfortably. Scott and Jean were locked in each others arms as Rouge playfully shoved Remy away from her.

Kurt's hands still rested on Kitty' hips, his thumbs drawing small patterns as his tail slackened his grip.

"That was something Liebes, mind giving me private dancing lessons?" Kurt only half joked.

"Depends on what I get in return," Kitty laughed as she reluctantly pulled away from him. Kurt stopped down and picked up Kitty's tank top.

"Thanks Fuzzy," Kitty said, slipping the shirt over her head. Kurt soaked in one last look of Kitty's chest, her porcelain mounds covered with the red lace. He stored that image away in his mind, sure to revisit it later.

"So who are we doing now?" Sam asked.

Kurt smiled and ported away, back a moment later, his arms filled with cowboy hats.

"Oh mah gawd," Rouge snorted as she and Kitty each took one. Sam swiped one up and placed it on his head, his blonde mollet looking oddly good and natural from beneath the hat.

"These are Mr. Logans," Rhane realized as she took one too.

"Ja, he has five of these things," Kurt laughed as he tossed the last one to Scott, who looked very funny with the hat and the red shades.

"Why does Mr. Logan think he's a cowboy? He's a Canuck!" Ray laughed as the girls started dancing the cotton eye joe jig.

"So you thinks he wants to be a cowboy?" Scott smirked as he typed on the laptop.

**Cowboy... cowboy**

**Well Im packin up my game and Im a head out west**

**Where real women come equipped with scripts and fake breasts**

**Find a nest in the hills chill like flynt**

**Buy an old droptop find a spot to pimp**

**And Im headin out west sucker...because I wanna be a**

**Cowboy baby**

**With the top let back and the sunshine shinin**

**Cowboy baby**

**West coast chillin with the boones wine**

**I wanna be a cowboy baby**

**Ridin at night cause I sleep all day**

**Cowboy baby.**

"I can see Logan rocking to this song," Remy said shaking his head at the odd image.

"No this is so better," Jubilee interjected as she selected a new song.

**Well, I walk into the room**

** Passing out hundred dollar bills**

** And it kills and it thrills like the horns on my Silverado grill **

**And I buy the bar a double round of crown **

**And everybody's getting down**

** An' this town ain't never gonna be the same.**

"Nice one Jubilee," Sam nodded appreciatively, this was one of his personal favorite songs.

**Cause I saddle****up my horse and I ride into the city **

**I make a lot of noise Cause the girls They are so pretty**

** Riding up and down Broadway on my old stud Leroy**

**And the girls say Save a horse, ride a cowboy. **

**Everybody says Save a horse, Ride a cowboy**

At the point were it declared to ride a cowboy Jean rushed to Scott and he easily picked her up, as she wrapped her legs around his waist. Kitty took off her cowboy hat and placed it on Kurt before pushing him down to the ground and straddling him, as Jubilee followed her example with Bobby. Kurt replaced Kitty's hat as she grinned cheekily down at him.

The music suddenly cut out and everyone froze. Logan approached the group of speechless teenagers. Slowly he went around taking his hats back.

"Do me a favor," Logan said as he took his hat from Kitty, who remained sitting frozen on top of a blushing Kurt. Rouge mutely held out his hat as he passed her. "Leave the cowboyin' to me darlins." With that, Logan turned and walked away. Remy finally broke the silence.

"Does that crazy Canuck really think he be a cowboy?"

* * *

Author's Note:

(1) Polyphemus was the cyclops in the Odyssey who was blinded by Odysseus

Thanks for reading and review if you like :) I know this story had been sotra silly so far, but I wanted to do something a little more lighthearted before I actually started writing about the real plot line. Remember the Soulsucker hunter guy? Yea, he's making an appearance soon. In fact, here's a preview for the next chapter....

_Scott picked a small blue fuzzy slipper from the driveway, wondering which of the girls it had belonged to. His body ached as he longed to see them again, to see Jean's smile once more. He heard the sounds of the other guys around him, all quiet and broken and faraway. He glanced at them and knew they felt the same way he did._

_"We failed," Scott looked up to see Kurt crouching on a tree branch above him, staring at the slipper in Scott's hand._

_"They trusted us, and we let them down," Bobby flinched as he came to stand next to Scott. They were all bruised and battered, but nothing could compare to the hurt they felt inside._

_Scott felt he should say something to them, anything that would ease their suffering but found that he could not. He was thier leader, but right now all he was capable of being was a man who just lost the love of his life._

_"We failed."_


	12. Chaos and Failure

I finally got this chapter up! I sorta broke my keyboard while I was cleaning it. I took off the spacebar but then couldn't get it back on... but it's better now!

Thank you for reading and a special thanks to my reviewers Acedia RG, Hellfirefanatic and Ondjage

* * *

The Professor sighed as he maneuvered his chair out of cerebro. There was no sign of Animusereptur anywhere on the globe, but he knew he was close by.

"Chuck," Logan sighed as he and Hank greeted Xavier in the hall, the three of them making their way to Xavier's office. "I can't smell him anywhere, and I've been all over a 25 mile radius of here. I know he's nearby though. He's got to be planning something."

"I have that feeling also and cerebro was unable to locate him."

Hank sighed as he flipped through the thick manilla folder he held in his hands. "I feared as such. It seems that after Animusereptur steals a girls soul and mutation, then the mutation continues to grow and evolve. And Yumi Kawasaki," he paused as he held up a picture of an Asian girl, one that made Logan shudder as he subconsciously related the black hair, high cheekbones and almond eyes to their own Asian Jubilee.

Hank put the picture away and continued with a heavy tone. "Yumi had the potential to become a telepath. I believe that's why Cerebro is having difficulty locating him and I also believe that he has been manipulating your senses Logan. This man, I believe that he likes the hunt, the game of the chase."

Logan growled as he pulled out his cigar and headed out to the balcony.

"I was thinking the same thing. He likes toying with us, he likes a challenge. And he knows we're going to give him one."

The professor and Hank remained in the doorway of the balcony's french double doors, grim and dissolved in their own thoughts as an unexpected gust of wind swayed the tree tops and brought Ororo onto the balcony.

She scoffed at Logan's lit cigar. "I wished you'd put that thing out, you're polluting the fresh air."

Logan shot her a glare as he blew a heart shaped smoke ring her way.

"Charming, I can see why the women are all over you," she said dryly as she waved her hand in front of her face.

"Good evening Ororo," the Professor greeted. "And how are the Morlocks?"

She sighed and leaned against the rail, the wind picking up considerably.

"They are as safe as they can be, though they still refuse any help." It was obvious of who she was thinking about as she closed her eyes and shook her head gently.

"I wouldn't worry about Evan, he feels he has a place there," the Professor said softly.

"He had a place here also," Ororo reminded him sadly.

"He's giving help and getting help that we couldn't give him," Hank added.

Ororo flinched and swallowed hard. "You mean help I couldn't give him."

Logan snorted when he heard that. Leave it to a women to twist your words.

Ororo arched a white eyebrow and fixed him with a hard glare.

He offered her an innocent, or as innocent as Logan could manage, shrug. "Your perfume made me sneeze."

The Professor had a hint of a smile as he addressed Ororo once more.

"I wish you would take someone with you when you leave the grounds, you're still just as much at risk as the girls are."

Ororo looked both insulted and touched as she shook her head. "I do not need protection, I believe I can handle myself."

Hank laughed deep in his chest. "Now you sound like the girls when they talk to the boys."

"Speaking of that, Chuck, we're going to have do some repairs on the football field...and keep the Danger room locked at all times," Logan said as flicked his cigar ashes off on the railing. He brought the cigar back to his mouth, mumbling about psycho rapists, crazy ass kids and stubborn weather goddess.

A bolt of lightening came down, striking his cigar from his mouth. It fell to the stone floor of the balcony, smoking and smoldering.

Slowly, Logan turned to face Ororo as she stepped forward and placed a high heeled boat onto the cigar with a small and punctuated step. She turned to Logan and offered him an innocent shrug.

"Your cigar made me sneeze."

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Ray fumbled in his pocket for his lighter, mumbling from behind the cigarette he held in between his teeth. He found the orange Zippo and smirked slightly. This lighter had been with him through everything and he hadn't been able to get rid of it when he came to the mansion and he had quit smoking. He wasn't disappointed with himself that he started smoking again, on the contrary, he was happy he had started again. Yea, it wasn't healthy, but it did help him relax and wind down.

Remy, who stood beside him, seemed to feel the same way. He placed his silver cigarette case back in his trench coat pocket and heaved a satisfied sigh.

"Mon Dieu, how I needed this," Remy said with a rush of breath that emptied his lungs of smoke. The May heat wave had finally broken and the air was slightly crisper as day slowly began melting into the next with the approach of midnight. Only Kurt, Remy and Ray were still awake. They had just come back to the mansion after a quick scouting run through Bayville.

"Why do you two insist on smoking on my balcony?" Kurt asked as he joined them, hands in his jean pockets and hair rumpled.

"Would you like to join us?" Ray asked leisurely, pulling out his pack.

Kurt looked tempted for a moment but shook his head. "Nein, I already have enough to confess to Father Montgomery in confessional because of the drinking, I shouldn't add smoking on top of it. Besides, I've tried smoking while I was in the circus, not for me."

"Mon ami, that's because those were German cigarettes you smoked. Now the German's, they know beer. But the French, they know cigarettes," Remy insisted with a smirk.

Kurt nodded absently, his ears perked up and his bright gold eyes narrowed. He stiffened as he focused his senses, trying to confirm what he had just heard. The guys beside him noticed and shared a meaningful glance.

"Kurt?" Ray demanded in a low whisper, keeping his eyes trained on Kurt.

Kurt brought a finger to his lips and made a motion for them to stay quite.

A crash sounded from faraway and the guys squinted in the dark.

"Shit, the Brotherhood house," Remy said as he pressed a few buttons on his communicator watch and brought it up to his mouth. "What de hell is going on over there, did one of you piss Wanda off or something.... come on you little fucks, tell us you're okay..."

"Damn it," Remy swore after a few moments. "No one's answering there...and I feel like fucking James Bond with this damn watch."

"Alright. Ray, go wake all the guys. Remy, you and I are going to get the girls and get them into the danger room, try not to wake them or they'll fight us and try and get away. Come on, we're getting Kitty and Rouge first," Kurt grabbed Remy's arm as Ray began speaking urgently into his watch.

Remy felt the pull of teleportation and found himself in Kitty and Rouge's dark bedroom. He stumbled for a moment and nearly ran into Rouge's acoustic guitar.

"You could have left your cigarette," Kurt said as he went to Kitty's bed and began folding back the thin sheet that Kitty had draped across herself.

Remy ditched the still smoking cigarette out the window and turned to Rouge and saw her twisted in her own sheets. Even in her sleep she insisted on covering herself, her long sleeve pajama top attested to that.

Kurt walked passed him hastily and to Kitty's armoire. He pulled her silky white robe from it and shaking his head, he replaced it again.

"What in de hell are you doing?" Remy asked him in a forced whisper as he pulled at Rouge's sheet and received a sharp kick in the process. "I swear this women hates me even when she's sleeping," Remy mumbled, rubbing his sore knee.

"It's cold in the danger room," Kurt said simply as he gathered Kitty's furry pink robe in his arms. He paused for a moment and grabbed her blue slippers also.

Remy sighed and pulled off his trench coat, draping it across Rouge before he lifted her from the bed. He liked the sight of Rouge wrapped up in his jacket, she looked right in it.

"Remy," Rouge mumbled sleepily. "Are we going to New Orleans again?"

"Non Chere, next time I'm taking you somewhere where we won't be hunted. Maybe Barcelona or Bordeaux, you'd like that non?" Remy said as he headed for the door, Kurt behind him with Kitty cradled in his arms.

"Why don't you just port?" Remy asked him as Kurt's tail twisted the door knob.

"Porting will wake her up," He answered as he stepped out to the hallway.

"I am awake," Kitty sighed groggily as she smiled slightly. She took a deep breath and then frowned. "Fuzzy, you don't smell right."

Kurt and Remy nodded to Hank as he exited Jubilee and Rhane's room, both girls nestled in his arms.

"How do I smell Liebes?" Kurt asked absently as he motioned to Remy, who was less familiar with the layout of the mansion, to take a sharp right.

"Like smoke," Kitty answered in a sleepily accusing manner. "Kurt Wagner, is Remy being a bad influence on you?"

"Hey now," Remy said as the three quickened their pace.

"Nein Katzchen, Remy's not a bad influence on me," Kurt laughed gently.

"Are you sure? Next you'll be eating that God awful cajun food," Kitty shuddered.

"What be dis? Kick the Cajun?" Remy grumbled.

"Count me in, I rock at this game," Rouge mumbled, pulling Remy's trench coat tighter around her.

"Mr. McCoy, how are we going to keep the girls in the danger room?" Kurt asked as they all sandwiched into the elevator.

"I'll put it on emergency lockdown mode, hopefully that'll keep them safe until this is over," Hank replied, shifting Rhane and Jubilee as the girls began to stir.

"And how do we keep Chaton from phasing them all out?" Remy asked.

Hank sighed. "I hate to do this, but I'll have to put a debilitation collar on her." Hank nodded when he saw Kurt's pained look. "I know, but it really is the lesser of two evils."

The three of them stepped out of the elevator .

"Remy?" Rouge demanded loudly, coming out of her sleep as Remy jostled her slightly.

"Chere, no time to explain," Remy said.

Scott came into their view, Jean held in his arms as he stood in front of the danger room doors.

"We sent a recon team down to the Brotherhood," He said as he shifted Jean in his arms so he could reach the door panel. The thick metal doors granted their entrance and the men set about depositing the girls there, who were quickly awakening and confused by their surroundings.

Hank pulled the debilitation collar from his pocket and approached Kitty.

Kurt shuddered slightly. He hated the idea of repressing her powers, but it was the idea of having to use a collar that really got him. It was as though she were an animal and needed containing. "I'll go get Amara." And with a bamf, Kurt was gone.

"Mr. McCoy?" Kitty asked as she felt a snug hold on her neck. She gasped out a breath and her hands flew to her throat. She looked up at Hank with furious and betrayed eyes.

"I"m sorry Kitty," Hank said softly. He looked at the other girls, who were now sitting up, confusion slipping into frantic acknowledgment.

"Scott, you can't keep us pinned up in here! Let us help you!" Jean yelled as she jumped to her feet.

"Jean no. You have to stay safe, and we have to protect you. I don't care if I'm being chauvinistic or whatever, but you're not leaving this room," Scott said firmly.

Hank made for the door. "I'm going up to the console and setting the room in Code Red 14, I trust that Kurt will port you two out. And Kitty," Hank said to the girl who was kneeling next to Jubilee, whispering to her. "I wouldn't try and have anyone break, shock, melt, or telekinetically remove that collar. It's wired with enough volts to send you into a seizure and fry your brain."

Kitty jumped to her feet. "What?!"

"Trust me, I do this only because I love you girls," Hank said sadly as the doors slid shut, leaving the girls alone with Scott and Remy.

"Remy, what do you think you're doing?" Rouge demanded with a shove to Remy's chest.

"Trying to keep you safe!" He retorted.

"And what about yourselves? If this thing, whatever it is, is so dangerous, then why aren't you staying in here with us?" Jubilee asked pleadingly.

"There's no use talking about this now, at the moment we're all stuck in here. Damn it, where's Kurt?" Scott hissed as he glanced at his watch. "We need to know how Ray, Sam and Storm are doing at the Brotherhood."

Kurt ported in a moment later, holding at arms length a flaming Amara. "Sorry, I had to find oven mitts so I could grab her and port."

"Damn it Kurt! You're taking me with you!" Kitty yelled, throwing herself into Kurt's arms, clutching at him franticly.

"Nein, you're staying here," Kurt replied firmly, holding her to him for a second. He stepped away from her, gathering her hands in his and kissing them gently as he squeezed them as though she would slip away from him. "Kitty, I promise you everything will be fine."

"We're doing this to protect you," Scott said grabbing Jean by the upper arms and kissing her quickly, but passionately as he tried to convey how unbelievably grateful he was to have the opportunity to cherish and protect her. "I love you."

"And who's going to protect you?" Rouge asked in a choked whisper.

"We'll leave that one up to fate. Take care of that jacket Rouge, Je vous prise seulement au-dessus de lui (1)," Remy said and the three guys dissappeared.

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"Damn it Chuck, what is taking Sam, Ray and Ororo so long?" Wolverine growled as he paced. The remaining men were all assembled, all in uniform and all ready to fight.

Kurt was crouching on a low tree branch, tense and ready to port to the Brotherhood house. His tail was swaying in Remy's face, who kept having to bat it out of his way.

Xavier's eyes were closed and his fingers to his temples. "I'm afraid that our boys, like the Brotherhood, are incapacitated."

"Incapacitated? He's on his way then. Kurt, port and scout," Scott said.

With a nod and a bamf, Kurt was gone. And back a moment later, careening through the air and into the stone wall of the mansion, his body limp as he fell toward the earth.

"Ugh, he's at the gate and letting himself in. And he brought a friend," Kurt moaned as Bobby and Roberto helped him up.

"Professor, I only have enough radiation reserve for a twenty minute fight," Roberto shook his head, avoiding powering up until necessary. Sunspot was stronger then anyone else when he was feeding off the sun's radiation, but his greatest asset was also his greatest weakness. He needed the sun to be powerful.

"Then we'll make this quick," Wolverine snarled, he claws coming out with snikt.

"Logan, I fear that his friend is one of immense power," Xavier warned.

"Yea, I smell Bruce. Damn it, this guy is tricky," Wolverine fell into a crouch.

"Bruce? As in Batman?" Jamie asked as his clones began making clones themselves, purposefully running into trees and tripping each other. Jamie had yet to be able to clone himself on command, but usually a stumble or fall would allow him to make copies of himself.

"Nah, we could take that cape wearing flying rodent. I think Logan means the Hulk," Bobby grimaced as the ground shook slightly, confirmation of who their guest was.

"Oh, so the green giant and you are friends?" Remy asked Wolverine, charging his cards. "I'd love to see a bar fight between you two."

"Stick around, you're about to see a lot more."

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Scott had dreaded this day since he had found out about what was hunting their girls, bound and determined to corrupt them, and leave them to a fate worse then death. And now, as Scott took a hit from Jason Murr, a pale and ordinary man, with a calm and cruel demeanor, he realized that they, the X-Men, were doing the one thing that they couldn't afford to do. They were losing.

Animusereptur had taken possession of not only the Hulk, but of Wanda and Storm too. Wanda had bound the powers of Remy and he was sporadically kinetically charging things, handicapping his teammates. Bobby had been scratched by Animusereptur, who had the powers of the Jackal in his possession, and was struggling to simply stand and had to bite back screams of pain. Kurt was porting, trying to get close enough to land a hit on Animusereptur, and only succeeded once, and had been given the same treatment as Bobby. The wind was blowing fiercely, and everyone struggled to stay on their feet and squint through the thick and heavy rain.

Roberto had used the last of his power to take on the Hulk after Wolverine's leg had cracked and he needed to heal. Roberto had fought as well as he could, but his power failed him and he had been tossed around like a rag doll, caught before he crashed through a window by Beast, who set him down and took over the fight with the Hulk. One of Jamie's clones had been possessed and turned against him and everybody was hesitant to help for fear of hurting the real Jamie, which ever one that was. Scott joined the fight with the Hulk and sent an optic blast to the giant green man's back and received a blow to the chest for his efforts.

"You think that you can protect them?" Animusereptur laughed as he swiped at Kurt once more. Bobby staggered to Kurt's aid, encasing the man in ice for a moment.

Kurt struggled to his feet and launched himself at the Hulk, porting them both far into the sky and letting them drop. The Hulk crashed into the fountain, finally out. Kurt himself had lost consciousness from the strain of teleporting with his injuries and Bobby iced a path up and caught Kurt's arm, hauling him up as the two made it back to the ground. Bobby staggered and coughed up blood, his body on fire from the pain his scratched radiated. He sunk to his knees, and looked up in time to see Animusereptur break through the ice. Bobby lost all sane and coherent thought as he felt his skin tear open once more, white searing pain choked him as his blood dripped from his open wounds, threatening but never promising death.

Remy charged a whole deck and sent them at Wanda, who was able to neutralize half of them, but was blown backwards. Wolverine was snarling and tackled Animusereptur, tired and exhausted, but furious and determined. He could stand the pain that had claimed both Kurt and Bobby, and he was ready to make this pale pipsqueak of a man regret the day he was born.

Scott turned to make sure the Professor was still alright, and found him in a telepathic struggle, fighting for control of Animusereptur and the release of his physiological prisoners. Silver and wispy figures of Xavier and Animusereptur were high off the ground, telepathic swords drawn, fighting to break down each others mental barriers as their physical bodies remained on the ground.

Storm was torn between the two sides, coming back to herself occasionally before being swept back into possession, sending lightning and gale force winds down on everyone. The Professor looked defeated for a moment and Beast let out a roar as he was struck by lightning, crumbling to his knees. Scott swore and sent an optic beam at his teacher and mentor. It hit Storm square in the chest and she fell through the air before catching herself and sent a whirl of wind at Scott, slamming him into a tree.

"Chuck," Wolverine snapped as a bolt of lightening passed through him, his metal skeleton taking the brute of the shock. "We're losing this."

"I know, we are," Xavier shook his head, letting go off all attempts to bring Storm and Wanda back to them.

"The girls, no we can't lose!" Scott shouted as a thick fog engulfed them. All battles have risks, but this battle weighed heavy on Scott, disorienting him and making him panicky with desperation and the knowledge that they were losing. All his leader skills slipped away from him and stripped him down to his core. Scott was sure that in this moment of frantic need, that'd he would do anything to stop this man. But there was nothing more that they could do and that knowledge drove Scott to a frenzied panic that was a far cry from his normal collected and calm demeanor.

"Scott, the girls are ready to fight. I'm sending them a telepathic message, detailing what exactly we are facing. To prepare them for what is to come. All we can do now, is have faith, and believe that the girls won't let this be their end." Scott heard Xavier's voice and everything was a red fog around him, the air pressure dropping. He felt his lungs strain, and his heart break as he thought of Jean and the torment that lay ahead of her. He felt her then, aware of her within in his mind. Scott tried to grasp at the feeling as he feel into an unconscious state.

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"I can't believe they just left us in here!" Amara yelled as she tried melting the walls of the danger room.

"Jean, how's the fight?" Jubilee asked the girl whose eyes were closed and her face set in determination. She let out a cry and flew backwards with an unseen force, crumbling as she hit the wall.

"Jean!" Jubilee and Rhane helped her up. Kitty came to her side, her hands searching for any damage.

"Who got hit Jean?" Kitty asked when she was satisfied that it was a psychic hit.

"Not Kurt," Jean flinched, reluctant to tell Kitty that Kurt was out of the fight and in a lot pain. She had been watching the fight through Scott's eyes, since he and she had the strongest psychic connection and saw her friends falling, fighting the Hulk, a pale and cold looking man, and for some reason, it seemed as though Wanda and Storm were against them also.

It was all so bizarre and much more sinister then she had thought. She had figured that the guys had gotten carried away with themselves when this new enemy appeared and they had overreacted and gone all watch dog on the girls. Jean was beginning to sense that there was much more to this all then she had originally assumed and she feared for her friends lives.

"Kurt's unconscious, isn't he?" Kitty asked as she closed her eyes.

"Yea, he is," Jean mumbled as Kitty flinched and nodded grimly.

"They're losing," Rouge sighed and dug into Remy's pockets, finding his silver cigarette case. The French words _Le Diable Blanc _(2) were engraved on the surface. Rouge smiled bitterly and ran her fingers over the smooth surface, wondering how the Cajun was doing. She felt silly to worry over him, he wasn't exactly a shrinking violet who needed to be taken care of, but she felt compelled to concern herself with his welfare and fret slightly.

The girls felt the Professor's mental fingers reaching out to them and they quickly accepted him into the privacy of their minds. The Professor gave them the information that they had been begging the guys for for the past week, trying to sound calm and comforting. Jean felt her heart sink and her stomach sicken as she swallowed the knowledge of what the guys had been trying to protect them from. Jean heard a choked sob and saw Rhane wiping her eyes. The other girls faces were blank and determined the Professor took his leave from their minds, wishing them luck.

"Oh god," Jubilee shuddered.

"I'm not mad at them for stalking us now," Amara swallowed hard.

"What are we going to do?" Rouge placed an arm around Rhane, who was the youngest and the most innocent of them. Never should Rhane, a pure 14 year old girl, have to face all this.

"The guy's are losing, and I don't think this Animusereptur would be against killing them to get to us. Once he kills them, he'll go through Hank's or Storm's mind for the code to get in here," Jean choked out as her breath shortened, her body deeply connected to Scott's. They didn't have to much time until Animusereptur forced Storm to suffocate them all.

"Then, let's give him what he wants," Kitty sighed, closing her eyes to stem the tears that threatened to spill.

Rouge nodded glumly, realizing the fate that the girls were going to hand themselves over to. "We can't save ourselves and the guy's can't save us either. But we can at least save them." Rhane collected herself and nodded, preparing herself for the sacrifice that would mean her friends lives and the end of hers.

"And how are we going to get out of here?"Amara grumbled, referring to the problem the girls had been trying to solve since they got locked up.

"We get this off," Kitty pulled at the collar again.

"Kitty, we're not going to fry your brain! It won't do us any good!" Jubilee cried out in pent up frustration.

"Then we'll just phase it off," Kitty explained.

"Did you already fry your brain? You can't phase," Jean rubbed her forehead, her head spinning with the lack of oxygen she was getting. She knew that she should cut off her mental connection with Scott, but she needed to stay with him through this.

"This thing suppresses my powers, not Rouge's," Kitty said as she stuck her pointer finger out. Rouge smirked and nodded. The girls brought their fingers together and flash of light passed through them both. Kitty barely felt the pull of Rouge's powers and felt only slightly drained, as though she had just done a three mile run with Logan telling her to pick up the pace.

"Alright, Rouge. Get this off of me," Kitty gestured to her collar.

Jean shook her head. "Kitty, are you positive it won't shock you?"

"We have to take this risk, go ahead Rouge, just phase it right off," Kitty said firmly. Rouge hesitated and all the girls held their breath as Rouge grabbed for the collar and tugged.

It feel to the floor with a clang and all the girls heaved out a sigh.

"Come on, let's get out of here!" Rhane said, grabbing on to Rouge. Rouge reached over and grabbed Jubilee and the three ran through the door, followed by Jean, Kitty and Amara.

Jean felt unfamiliar and cold mental fingers searching her and she threw up her mental shields on reflex. 'God damn it,' Jean swore as she tried to push the intruder further out. She knew immediately that it was Animusereptur.

He was skilled at telepathy, not so much as the Professor was, but enough to make him a very big threat. Jean exerted her telepathic strength and briefly breached into his sick and twisted mind, nearly vomiting as she saw all the sinister acts he had committed. There were other people in his mind, in pain and bitter. The presences in his mind weren't his friends, but they were too weak to be his enemies either. Jean remembered a part of the Professor's message, about how he stole people's souls and she tried to coax one of the beaten and trapped souls to talk to her, to fight against the man's mind from within.

His mind suddenly became flamed with anger, mental fire scorching at Jean's searching mind as she severed links with him, pulling herself back into the confines of her own body. She was aware that while she herself could handle a telepathic fight and beating, any damage she suffered mentally would affect Scott also, as she was unable to disconnect her physic link to him. She was dimly aware that Scott didn't want her to leave him, that in his unconscious and suffocating state, he needed reassurance that Jean was still safe.

"Girls, he's a telepath," she groaned as they ran through the halls.

"Ugh, could this get any worse?" Jubilee shook her head.

"We need to hurry," Rhane said, morphing into her wolf form.

The girls nodded and picked up their pace, trying to give themselves to this madman before he could take pleasure in watching their friends slowly smother to death.

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Amara's breath, which was exhausted and short already from her desperate sprint out of the danger room, was completely stolen from her when she raced out the door that Jean had just mentally thrown open. It was wet outside, and foggy beyond belief. The air was thin and Amara clutched onto Jubilee to keep from falling to her knees as she gasped, her lungs trying to draw oxygen in. The night was dark through the fog, the only light came from the alcove's that flanked the front door.

"Stop! Please stop!" Jean yelled from somewhere in front of Amara. All around her was white and she felt a mild pang of fear for the unknown. Amara reacted to this by feeling the earth under her feet, felt the magma that flowed several miles below her, churning and beckoning to her with a reassurance that she was not helpless, even though she felt Wanda binding her powers within her.

"Oh," A man's smug voice drawled from somewhere in the fog. It sounded disturbingly close, as though he was around her, above her and in her all at once. Amara remembered Jean's warning of this man's telepathy and furtively tried to put up her shields, but found that she couldn't remember any of her training with the Professor or Jean. "So you've finally come out of hiding."

"We'll go with you," Rouge shouted. Her voice was frantic and imploring, a far cry from her usual coolly collected demeanor.

"And why would I let them live?" It wasn't a threat, more of a tease that made Amara's blood boil. She didn't like being toyed with. With her it was either be straightforward or get out of her way. She couldn't take subtle games like Jean, Jubilee or Kitty, who were able to discern what exactly a person means through double entendres, various word play and body language. She bit back a snarl as she resigned herself to be this man's play thing, both mentally and physically.

She heard shuffling and then a wolves small whine.

"Rhane!" Jubilee yelped, letting go of Amara as her arms swung out, trying to find Rhane but only succeeding in whacking Amara a few times. She grabbed Jubilee's arms and rub them in a calming manner as her right foot began blindly prodding the ground, hoping to connect with Rhane or one of the other girls.

"She's just passed out from the lack of oxygen," Kitty's voice tried to soothe from Amara's left side, though her concern was practically a tangible entity around them.

Amara felt desperate and very vulnerable. The fog seemed to be dissipating though, thinning as the girls began feeling numb as they gasped fir breath. She felt another presence in her mind that began pushing out Animusereptur and Amara was flooded with temporarily relief as the pressure subsided.

'Jean?' Amara called mentally as Jubilee clutched her hand, confirming that she wasn't the only one playing host to another persons mind.

'I don't have quite as much hair as our Jean,' the Professor's voice, or rather thoughts, sounded in a calming, yet strained, tone. 'Relax Amara, I will not allow this man to make Storm a murderer. But, I'm afraid that that is all I can manage right now.' Amara nodded mentally, conveying her understanding at the Professor's currently weak state. At least the guys would live.

"Please, just leave them alone!" Kitty called, sounding less desperate and more demanding. Amara spotted her silhouette through the fog, kneeling next to Rhane as she smoothed the girls hair.

"Your friends aren't dead yet, getting there, but not yet," Animusereptur called out.

"And you," Jean suddenly snarled, sounding much more confident. "Are losing hold on Storm, aren't you?"

A bitter laugh sounded as the air began turning back to normal, making the girls feel as though they were descending down the side of a mountain.

"The Goddess is hard to control with your Xavier assisting her. Besides, I have my hands full with keeping the witch at bay." Wanda must have sent forth another surge of her power and the girls drew back for a moment, feeling constricted and smothered. "So breathe easy little Cherubs, your friends will live," he said with a sickeningly cheerful ambience.

The fog was now drifting slowly away and the girls were torn between huddling towards one another or fanning out and searching for the guys. Kitty made the decision for all of them when she spotted her elf curled on the ground.

"Fuzzy!" she sobbed as she rushed forward, leaving Rhane in Rouge's care. Amara followed her, bringing Jubilee along, who swore at the sight of Bobby's bloody body. They dropped to their knees and carefully positioned the guys in what they hoped was a more comfortable position.

Kitty was stroking the fur of Kurt's face, murmuring quite endearments in German that she had picked up from being around Kurt so much. Her hands became bloodied as she skimmed his cuts.

Amara looked wildly around at her surroundings. The fountain was destroyed, a very ordinary looking man who she didn't recognize in the middle of the mess. Beast was lying in a heap, his fur singed. The Professor had fallen from his chair, Logan on his right side and Scott on his left. Remy was at Wanda's feet, her hands glowing in a grey and blue energy that kept the girls so tightly bonded and Storm was hovering above them all, enveloped in a sort of trance. Young Jamie was a bloody mess, though his bruises and cuts were different from Bobby's and Kurt's. He looked as though he had been in a bar room fight where no one was declared the winner.

"They will heal," Animusereptur sighed exasperatedly, as though annoyed at their concern for their friends. Storm let out a choked sob as her body suddenly dropped, plummeting to the grass. Jean and Rouge reacted the quickest, dashing forward so that they could at least break Storm's fall. The weather goddess came down on them with a hard thud and the girls groaned at the impact that left them sprawled on the ground.

A man stepped forward from behind a tree, a lazy and self satisfied smirk on his pale face as he strolled up to them. He offered Jean and Rouge a hand up.

The girls growled as they ignored his hand and pulled themselves onto their feet and stepped away from him, moving into defensive positions.

His smirk widened. "My, my... do I put you on edge?" His grey eyes looked amused, condescending and also appraising as he slowly took in each of the girls.

"I certainly have a selection here," He said. "I will enjoy myself." He let his eyes linger on the girls as a sneer came across his face.

Amara practically felt Kitty snap beside her. The short and petite girl stood angrily and grabbed her blue slipper and hurled it at the man. It hit his chest harmlessly and feel to the ground.

"Fuck you!" Kitty roared like a lion as she ran her hands through her hair, fisting the messy curls in rage as her eyes widened. "You're sick!"

"Well you're a spirited one," Animusereptur chuckled as Rhane began to stir and Jubilee rushed to her side, helping her on to her feet while whispering comforting words to her.

"Now, Wanda, be a dear and fetch the other girl." Wanda nodded and walked off to a patch of trees, emerging a moment later with Tabitha hoisted over her shoulder.

Animusereptur was kneeling down next to Logan, digging in his pockets.

"Here it is," he said, pulling out a ring of keys. He turned back to the girls and jingled them.

"Tell me, do anyone of you know how to fly?"

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Scott was torn between waking up and letting himself lie on the ground. It wasn't that his body hurt, which it did, that beckoned him to stay in his unmoving state. He knew what had happened, and wanted to immediately jump to his feet to try and solve the problem. But this wasn't just Juggernaut escaping or one of Magneto's twisted plans of homo superior and what not. This was the girls. And they were gone. To be able to logically think of a plan of action like a leader should, then Scott would have to acknowledge what had happened. He didn't want to do that.

His internal battle of whether or not to get up came to a halt as he felt someone's strong hand come down on the collar of his shirt and heave him to his feet.

"Get up kid," Logan half snarled. Scott opened his eyes reluctantly and was surprised at what he saw. Logan looked like an old man, lines of worry and a deep troubled look in his eyes, but beneath that, he looked like a child who had gotten lost in the grocery store, scared and alone. Storm was lying in his arms, whimpering softly in her native tongue.

"Logan," Scott began but choked on his words.

"Kid, go help the others. All we can do right now," Logan sighed as he stepped past Scott.

Scott spotted a man he didn't recognize apologizing profusely to the Professor, who was nodding and reassuring the man. Scott figured that the man was Bruce, aka the Incredible Hulk who was notoriously unstable and constantly fighting the beast within. It was easy to see why this man was so easily put under by Animusereptur's possession.

Scott's mind focused more as he slowly stumbled forward. Roberto was helping Jamie to his feet and Sam and Ray were stumbling towards the mansion, sporting their own evidence of their fight at the Brotherhood House, Todd slung over Ray's shoulders.

The gut clenching reality hit him and Scott fought the urge to vomit. They were gone. The girls that he loved like sisters and the girl who was his soulmate were _gone_. In the hands of a man who would rape them, torture them, kill their bodies and steal their souls. Scott lost the battle with his body and doubled over, gagging and hiccoughing. The contents of his stomach joined the blood on the grass and Scott wondered whose it was. Was it one of the guys from the fight, or had Animusereptur already started on the girls? Maybe they were already dead.

This thought made Scott's heart jump painfully to his throat and as he heaved again, he wondered if it was possible to throw up your heart.

The night was turning into dawn and the sun was peaking through the horizon. Scott pondered dimly why the sun was still shining when chaos was all around. He stepped onto the driveway and turned his back to the sun. He walked on slightly more steady feet down the driveway, unsure of where he intended to go. His feet came down on something soft and he stopped.

Scott picked a small blue fuzzy slipper from the driveway, wondering which of the girls it had belonged to. His body ached as he longed to see them again, to see them safe and whole, to see Jean's smile once more. He heard the sounds of the other guys around him, all quiet and broken and faraway. He glanced at them and knew they felt the same way he did. This smothering chaos was enveloping them, seeping into them.

"We failed," Scott looked up to see Kurt crouching on a tree branch above him, staring at the slipper in Scott's hand. Kurt looked like hell, blood matted on his fur and a painful grimace on his face. His voice was hollow and almost serene, the calm before the storm.

"They trusted us, and we let them down," Bobby flinched as he came to stand next to Scott. They were all bruised and battered, but nothing could compare to the hurt they felt inside, the gaping hole that was spreading through their chest.

Scott felt he should say something to them, anything that would ease their suffering but found that he could not. He was their leader, but right now all he was capable of being was a man who just lost the love of his life. So instead, he echoed Kurt's earlier words and spoke the truth.

"We failed."

* * *

And there's chapter 12! Review if you like, cause I know I love it when I get reviews, it really does give me motivation. And here are the translations.

1. I treasure only you above it

2. The White Devil. If you're a Remy fan then I'm sure you already knew that

Thank you for reading and I hoped you enjoyed it!


	13. Berry Tea

Thank you for reading my story, but I would like to take this opportunity to warn readers that there will be mention of sexual abuse and rape in the next few chapters. I'm seriously considering moving this up to a 'M' rating...

A very special thanks to my reviewers Acedia RG, Hellfirefanatic, Ondjage, demonlrd66, TazzybizzyNya, and me (haha, no I don't mean myself)

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Jubilee woke up to the sound of dripping. She opened her eyes slowly, blinking a few times until she realized that the reason why she wasn't seeing anything, wasn't because of her eyes, but because it was simply dark. Dark and cold. Wherever she was stunk like mildew and the space she was in felt small and compact. A faint glow was coming from a small window, succeeding in only making the room feel more threatening.

'How...' Jubilee thought franticly, sitting up too quickly for her foggy head to handle. 'If this is one of Bobby's jokes then I'm going to kill him.'

Jubilee felt odd, heavy and drowsy, as though she had just gotten off a 12 hour plane ride after taking five Dramamine. Her mouth tasted coppery and she was wearing only her pajamas.

Panic set in when she tried to use her fireworks to light the room, but found she couldn't, like something had put a lid on her powers and the pressure built in Jubilee's chest, making it very difficult to breath. Remembrance and realization struck her, and Jubilee knew that this wasn't one of Bobby's tricks. This was a nightmare and it was very real.

Jubilee tried to remain calm, tried to remember Logan's training and advice about what to do in a kidnapping situation, but all Jubilee could think about was the man that had her and her friends, and what he was going to do to them.

Jubilee thought back to her last coherent memory and shuddered. After taking the keys from Logan, Animusereptur had led them to the hangar of the Blackbird and forced them aboard. Once on the plane, all hell broke loss. The girls rushed Wanda and him in a last ditch desperate attempt to save themselves from a horrible fate.

Rouge had been incredible, she had fought against him to the best of her abilities, trying to touch him so she could absorb him. Her power, unlike all the other girls, was uncontrollable and even Wanda can't bind her powers. But apparently Animusereptur had come prepared, and stuck Rouge in the chest with a syringe filled with sedative. She fell to unconsciousness quickly and Animusereptur gave all the girls the same treatment, telling them that if they weren't going to cooperate, then this all would be much more painful for them.

Jubilee choked back a cry. Had he killed any of her friends yet? Would she ever see Bobby again? Had Animusereptur already raped her?

Jubilee couldn't hold back the panicked yelp as the last thought ran through her mind. She forced herself to stop shaking, trying to make her body aware through her hazy state. Other then feeling a bit jelly like, she felt fine. Not sore, not abused, not violated. Relief seeped through her before another sick feeling replaced it. Just because it had happened yet, didn't mean it wasn't going to. Animusereptur probably would want them awake for when he had his way with them.

Jubilee heard crying and her hands immediately reached for her face, searching for the tears she was shedding. When she found none, Jubilee smiled. If she wasn't crying, that meant that one of her friends was, which meant that they were still alive and felt a small comfort as she stood on shaky legs and walked to the small window on the far wall. Very little light seeped through and it was caged with metal, trapping Jubilee. She peered through the window as best as she could and saw that she was a few stories up.

From the other side of the door, she heard the jingling of keys and then the sound of a heavy lock turning. Jubilee turned and fell into a weak defensive position. The door swung open and fluorescent light poured in he room and Jubilee quickly took in the details of her room. The floor was thinly carpeted and the walls tiled. A small toilet and sink were tucked in a corner and a small metal framed bed was up against a wall. Jubilee's brow furrowed when she saw that the bed was also equipped with leather chest, wrist and ankle bindings. A roll of nausea tumbled through her as she realized just where Animusereptur had taken her and her friends. They were in an abandoned insane asylum.

Animusereptur stood in the door frame, a pale and ghostly looking Wanda behind him, apparently still under his possession.

"Ah, Miss Lee," he said amiably, as though greeting her for a business meeting, He stepped into the room slowly as his grey eyes flickered from her to the bed, his friendly demeanor changing to one of a hunter circling it's prey. He sat on the cot and fiddled with the leather restraints with a sick, twisted smile. He cocked his head and looked up at her slowly.

"It's your turn now."

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Remy had never felt so empty in his life. Not after he had been exiled from New Orleans, not after Jean Luc and the rest of the Thieves Guild had put a hit out on him, not even after he had murdered Julien. Never in his life.

He knew that they had tried their best, fought their hardest, but it hadn't been enough to save the girls, to save Rouge. His mind clouded with horrible images of what the girls were facing, what was happening to them. They could be dead already, mutilated bodies with their souls trapped.

He stood at the doorway of Rouge and Kitty's room, taking a peak into Rouge's life. Both the girls were neat and clean, but it was rather funny to see the contrast in the sides of their rooms, one side seemed like the beginning of the day, all light and cheerful, while the other appeared as the dead of night, dark and almost wistful. Somehow, the contradiction in the room seemed right, natural almost. There was a comfort in the space, an unspoken presence that haunted Remy.

Their beds were unmade still from when Kurt and Remy had quickly taken them to the danger room, though it had been for nothing. On Kitty's bed was a tangle of soft pastel colored sheets and blankets and frilly throw pillows. Her nightstand had a small lamp and the book Lord of the Flies on it. Her armoire was still open and Remy saw bunches of clothes neatly piled in there, all competing for the same space. On her dresser was a collection of small porcelain ballerinas, tokens of her dancing. She had a small cherry wood jewelry box and a silver Star of David necklace was laid on top of it. The usual girl things were there also, a brush, a straightener, her cherry blossoms perfume. Remy looked at the pictures she had tucked into the corners of her mirror. A picture of Storm with a straw gardening hat on, bent over her flowers, one of Logan rolling his eyes as the girls crowded around him for the picture.

Remy chuckled bittersweetly before turning to Rouge's side of the room. There were no pictures of friends or family, no porcelain figurines, hardly anything that could be deemed personal, except her acoustic guitar and the tall bookcase. The books seemed to be a collaboration of her and Kitty's tastes, the classics were there, like Austen, Dickens, the Bronte's, as well as books such as Brave New World, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Brother's Karamazov and such others that Remy was sure Rouge enjoyed. On her dresser was her elaborate collection of gloves, some leather, some silk, some cotton, and all black. Her sheets and blankets were a dark purple and one of her pillows was slightly askew, the corner of her queen of hearts card peeking out.

Remy felt his chest tighten as he picked up the card. He recalled everything about their trip to New Orleans. He had known Rouge before he 'kidnapped' (Remy hated using that word, first of all Rouge was no kid and secondly, he gave her back, kinda). Before their little trip, he had felt an attraction for the untouchable girl. Remy had assumed that he wanted Rouge because he could never have her, that lusting after her was a torturous teasing that left him completely unsatisfied, but constantly fueled his fantasies. Remy was used to getting any girl he wanted, he was all charm and seduction. And knowing he could never have Rouge drove him into near obsession for her.

But then after taking her to New Orleans, learning about her, worrying about her, and caring about her, Remy realized it wasn't his sinful nature or his desire to attain the unattainable that pulled him towards Rouge.

It was love that made him dream of her every night, made him yearn for her so much so that she drove him to near desperation. It was love that drove him to the steps of Xavier's Institute. It was love that was making his tears fall now, dripping onto the Queen of Heart's card in his hand.

Remy didn't feel foolish for crying as he normally would have. These tears were justified, filled with desperation and pain. No one knew where Rouge was, where any of the girls were, or if they were even alive.

"Remy," Jamie's small voice brought Remy back to reality. He turned, not caring to wipe his tears. He had no need to hide how he felt. He knew all the guys felt the same way. Jamie stood in the doorway, his black eye and torn lip reminders of his fight against his own clone.

"Yes Jamie?" Remy found that his voice was soft and gentle, almost paternal. The thought sparked ideas of a life he could never have. Images of Rouge with a child in her arms and Remy by her side made him swallow roughly.

Jamie took a small step into the room. He looked as though he were searching for something, trying to grasp at the comfort of the room, but found only painful reminders of the girls who were suppose to be in there, laughing and yelling at the guys to get out. He looked pained as he tried to come further in.

"They'll be okay, right? I mean they have to be," Jamie said in a choked tone.

Remy wanted to lie to the youngest member of the team. Jamie was 12, still innocent. The ugliness of the girls predicament shook him bad and the truth would only hurt him more.

However, Jamie didn't give Remy the chance to answer with a lie and an empty promise that everything would be fine. He gathered everything he needed to know from the look in Remy's red and black demon eyes.

Jamie nodded slowly and took a shaky breath.

"Let's make their beds," Remy suggested as he began pulling at Rouge's sheets. It was a stupid request, pointless really, but somehow it made Remy feel better. At least he was doing something.

If Jamie had agreed with him about how stupid making the girls beds seemed, then he had kept to himself. He wordlessly set about the task of meticulously making Kitty's bed, fluffing the pillows and straightening the dust ruffler.

Remy smoothed Rouge's comforter, the card still clutched in his hand. He kissed it before placing it back under her pillow.

Jamie and he left the room, closing the door softly.

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Logan left the Danger Room, throwing his sneakers down. The night was getting darker, signaling the end of the day. And they had made no success in finding the girls. He hadn't been able to stand not doing anything anymore, so he had spent the last four hours ripping up the danger room.

As he stalked down the halls, it became evident that nothing had changed. He could hear Scott and Sam in the living room, pouring over maps and calculating how far the Blackbird could go with how much fuel it had had. It was a waste of time, Logan knew, and so did Scott and Sam. But they had to do this mundane task to keep from losing their minds. Ray and Forge were in the lab, attempting to come up with a tracking device that could locate the Blackbird. But of course, the Blackbird itself was untraceable and no tracking system would ever be able to find it. The Professor was in Cerebro, which was the best shot of finding out where the girls were but so far had come up empty handed.

Logan turned a corner and saw Bobby laying on his bed in his room, his breath shallow. Logan knocked once on the open door before entering.

"Hey Ice cube," He said gruffly by way of greeting. Bobby opened one eye and nodded to Logan.

"Anything new?" he wheezed out, his chest protesting in pain. He and Kurt had been hurt the worst in the fight. Animusereptur had attacked them using the Jackal's powers and the cuts he had left them with debilitating and incredibly painful. Bobby and Kurt barely kept themselves from howling in pain as Hank examined them in the med lab. Hank had told them that the Jackal's powers were still effecting them and that during the day the cuts would go away slowly.

"How ya feeling kid?" Logan asked as he took in Bobby's appearance. The cuts were healing, something that reminded Logan of his own healing process in slow motion. A cut on Bobby's neck was closing as they spoke, Bobby's skin coming back together as though nothing had ever happened. Bobby repressed a grunt and clutched his blanket.

"I didn't count on the healing process being almost as painful as actually getting the cuts. Is it painful for you to heal?" He mumbled.

"Yea, it is," Logan answered honestly.

"God damn it Logan, I feel so useless!" Bobby suddenly shouted, his fist coming down on his mattress.

Logan nodded. They all felt that way, unable to control anything, to do anything.

"Bobby, there's nothing you can do. Heal right now," He said. Bobby closed his eyes and nodded, his small outburst seemed to have spent all his energy.

"Don't try and talk to Kurt," he said in a new tone, this one sad and quiet.

Logan's brow furrowed. He had been planning on checking in on the elf after he left Bobby. "Why's that?"

"He's praying in his room. He ported from the lab and Mr. McCoy asked me to check on him to see if he made it to his room okay. All I heard was a bunch of Latin, German and crying," Bobby sighed and raised an arm slowly to itch his newly healed forehead. "Do you think it helps to pray?"

"Helps him. Always did. He needs that right now, if he wasn't praying then he'd do something really stupid," Logan sighed as he sunk into Bobby's desk chair.

"Do you think the girls are praying?" Bobby asked in a rush.

Logan looked up in surprise. Bobby didn't think that the girls were dead, not yet at least. He had been sure that all the younger guys would go about mourning as though it was over, that the girls were gone. Bobby returned Logan's look grimly and answered Logan's unspoken question.

"I refuse to think the girls are so weak that they would be dead already. I want proof before I start planning their funeral," Bobby said firmly, though pain was evident in his voice as he spoke of them being dead.

Logan smiled slightly. Bobby was going to be a good leader before it was all over.

"I don't know if they pray," Logan answered, almost laughing as he thought of Rouge on her knees with her hands clasped and her eyes turned heavenward.

Bobby nodded. "They haven't lost hope yet," he whispered, thinking of Jubilee and her optimistic attitude. It wasn't possible for her to die, in Bobby's mind, that was the most unbelievable thing there was in the world. He would accept George Washington and Abraham Lincoln coming to life and becoming a Broadway star duo faster then he would accept the girls death.

"And neither have we," Logan said as he got off the chair. "I'll keep you updated."

Bobby nodded and shut his eyes as Logan left the room.

Scott and Sam were still huddled over maps when Logan came into the living room.

"Get to bed," Logan commanded as they turned towards him.

Scott sighed, trying to fold a map but kept turning it the wrong way. "I'm not a child Logan." Scott tried once more to tuck the map into a small rectangle but failed. He cursed and balled the map up.

"Shades, don't be difficult, you're tired, now go," Logan said once more, his patience wearing thin.

Scott looked as though he were about to protest once more but Sam cut him off.

"Come on man, he's right. We've done all we can," he said as he stood on his feet, rubbing his shoulder. He and Ray had quite a fight at the Brotherhood house and Hank said that Sam was sporting a bruised scapula and concussion as a result.

Scott grumbled as he rose. "Sorry, I'm just not used to feeling so useless."

"None of us are, but we need sleep," Sam sighed as Logan nodded.

The two left and Logan sank down on to a couch, elbows on his knees and face in his hands. He refused to let his mind think the worst, he refused to think about the torment and abuse the girls were facing.

Instead, he thought about what he was going to do to Animusereptur when they found him, and they _were_ going to find him. Logan would hunt him down to the corners of the universe so he could gut Animusereptur. And if the worst had happened and the girls were dead, then Logan would tear him apart slowly. The sick part was that Logan would enjoy every moment of it, he'd laugh as Animusereptur screamed. Logan wondered briefly if this was his breaking point, if finally the animal had killed the man inside and was taking over. Maybe Logan had finally turned into the monster that he was always suppose to be, that he was created to be.

Ororo came in the room a moment later, a blue bathrobe on and white slippers. She sipped at the cup of tea in her hands as she sunk down on the couch next to Logan.

Logan felt a stirring in his heart when Ororo entered the room, and was comforted to know that the man in him wasn't gone. Not yet at least, but if he found the girls dead, then he wasn't sure what he would turn into.

He lifted his head and looked over at Ororo. She looked exhausted, guilt and worry ridden. He knew that she blamed herself for being possessed by Animusereptur and had expected herself to be stronger then that. Her pretty brown skin looked pinched and her hands were shaking visibly. When she opened her blue eyes, Logan had to look away from her, back down to his own calloused hands.

He heard her snort lightly, very unlike her usual elegant and classy demeanor. "Can't look at my eyes either can you? I was having the same problem earlier, every time I'd look in a mirror, I'd see Kitty's eyes. I never noticed how her blue was so similar to mine."

Logan nodded, glancing at her sideways. "Don't take it personally, I almost poked out Roberto's eyes earlier. Looked too much like Amara's."

She smiled slightly. "And about three people yelled at Ray to not look at them. Too many of the girls have green eyes."

"Ro, you know it wasn't your fault," Logan began as he took her cup of tea from her hands. She was shaking so badly that tiny droplets had begun to spill onto her hands.

"Logan, you don't understand. I was so aware of what was going on around me, I could see myself, all that I was doing. And I couldn't stop. I came so close to killing you all, and if it hadn't been for Charles, then my hands would be soaked in your blood and there would be no hope for finding the girls," Ororo began shaking her head. "After Apocalypse possessed me, I swore to myself that I would never be used as a weapon against my friends."

Logan met her eyes then. "I do understand that feeling of no control, being a puppet to someone."

Ororo visibly flinched when she heard that. She had forgotten about Logan's struggle against outside forces for control of himself. She didn't know much about it, just that Logan had taken the Blackbird to Canada, fought against some mad scientist who had worked with Hydra at the time when they had given him his adamantium anatomy, deeming him Weapon X. Apparently Logan had freed himself from the man by blowing up his lab, which Ororo thought was very Logan like. Logan's past was his own past, and she had never pressed for details, much like he himself never pressed for knowledge of her former life.

It was nice really, they both could maintain the illusion that here in Xavier's institute, there was only the future, and the sins of their past didn't matter. Their unwillingness to speak of what had already come and gone wasn't out of some facade of privacy, but rather a desperate attempt to appear to the younger generation as a beacon of hope and what the children should strive to be as.

"I'm sorry Logan, I forgot," she mumbled as he passed her the cup of tea.

"Don't worry about it, I don't talk about it much," He replied.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, each lost to their own concerns. Ororo broke the ice of silence abruptly.

"Have you ever killed someone Logan?"

Her question caught Logan off guard and he started slightly. "Yea 'Ro, I've killed people."

She nodded and placed her empty cup on the table in front of her, deciding that she couldn't keep the illusion that her past was forgiven while she was in the walls of the mansion anymore. It was time to glance over her shoulder and look the beasts of her past decisions in the eye, she had to do that before she could step forward again.

"As have I," she said softly, leaning back into the couch and closing her eyes. She remembered the fight, the struggle from when she was just a 13 year old, unusually beautiful and captivating, so much so, that a man had tried to have his way with her.

She looked over at Logan and was slightly startled to see he was neither surprised nor confused, but was rather nodding as he said, "I thought you may have."

"How did you know?" she wondered aloud.

Logan shrugged. "I've seen enough death and killings to know how it changes a person. I watch you as you fight, you're reserved and hold yourself back."

Ororo sighed, shuddering at the memory. "I killed a man, to keep him from raping me. The girls, they must be so terrified, I know I was."

"They're strong, like you. They'll find a way to keep themselves safe," Logan reassured.

"By the goddesses, I pray for their safety. I pray that they will make it through this, and have faith that it will be alright," Ororo mumbled.

"Remember that time when I went off the Canada?" Logan asked suddenly.

"Apparently tonight is a time for story telling and divulging deep dark secrets to one another," she laughed gently, pleased to see Logan opening himself up to her as she had for him.

He smiled grimly. "Kitty and Kurt were on board the Blackbird, I have no idea why, those two just seem to have a natural knack for getting into trouble. I had been planning to go up to the lab and figure out some things, but as you know, I ended up losing control over myself."

Ororo shuddered as she thought of the feeling of being possessed. Her movements had been so exact and decisive and she had seen the lightening bolts she had called down strike at her friends and children.

"The bastard had me go after Kitty, and the monster in me wanted to kill her." Ororo raised her eyebrow when she heard that. She couldn't imagine Logan hurting one hair on any of the girls, especially Rouge or Kitty.

"She ran of course, terrified. If I had run faster I could have killed her in an instant, but I fought against it, giving her time to get away. The twisted part is that she lost me for awhile, she could have escaped. Instead she tried talking me out of it and refused to let Kurt port her away, all he could think about was keeping Kitty safe. She quieted the animal inside and I got control again," Logan said quietly, talking about the events of that day for the first time. No one had known about exactly what had happened, why the Blackbird was gone or why Kitty and Kurt hadn't been in school. Charles had never asked and the two teens had told their friends that they needed a little 'vacation'.

Ororo sighed. "So that's what happened. I swear that child is going to get herself killed one of these days. She had faith in you Logan."

Logan nodded. "And I have faith in her, faith in all the girls. Ro, their lives won't end here, they won't let them."

"Is the mighty Wolverine showing that he indeed has a heart?" Ororo smiled slightly.

"Did you ever doubt it?" Logan asked, looking her in the eyes unabashedly.

Ororo blushed under the rawness of his gaze, wishing that she had enough emotional strength to act like the reserved Goddess and not like a woman in need of reassurance. Reassurance that everything would be alright, that the girls would return to them as if this had never happened and also reassurance that even though she had nearly killed all the men, that they still wanted her to stand by them. She acted on impulse then, felt her body move towards Logan, her arms slipping around his neck as her lips found his.

Logan tensed when he felt Ororo's lips move against his, her fingers tangling in his hair. He moved his hands to her waist, preparing to push her away gently, tell her that she was emotionally distraught and frustrated about not being able to do anything about what was going on and that she didn't really want this, didn't really want him and that this wasn't right.

Instead, Logan's hands tightened on her waist as her tongue brushed against his lips and he opened his mouth to grant her entry. He had always found Ororo attractive, hell a man would have to be dead not to. He deepened the kiss as Ororo's hand clutched more firmly in his hair. They were both worried, desperate and frustrated. Was taking comfort wherever you could find it in a time of need wrong?

Logan wasn't given the time to ponder whether or not their kiss was right or wrong. A heavy knock on the front door forced them apart and Ororo jumped to her feet, blushing mildly as she straightened her robes. She turned on her heel and Logan followed after her, sensing that she wasn't about to talk about what had just happened. The woman in need for reassurance was gone, replaced for the time being with the stony Goddess. She reached the door in several long strides and opened it swiftly as Logan came to stand beside her.

What greeted them was mildly unexpected.

"Mags, what in the hell are you doing here?" Logan snarled as Eric and Mystique stepped into the mansion uninvited. Ororo closed the door with a strong gust of wind, the slam translating how unpleasant their presence was.

"Our daughters are missing," Mystique snapped, glaring at Ororo. "You couldn't keep them safe!"

"The last time I checked, Wanda was under the household of the Brotherhood of Magneto. We care about her, but she is not our responsibility!" Ororo corrected, folding her arms across her chest.

"But Rouge is!" Mystique snapped inching closer to Ororo.

Ororo's hand came down on her cheek hard, leaving the blue skin faintly purple as the sound of the smack sounded off the walls. She snatched Mystique's wrist as her hand came up to return the strike.

"Don't you dare come into our home, _her home_, acting as though you care about her! We care about her, we love her! I assure you that we feel the pain of her kidnapping much more strongly then you do!" She shook Mystique's arm slightly with every word she spoke before she let go off her wrist with a disgusted grimace.

"Bitch, you have no idea how I feel about my children," Mystique hissed.

"Will the two of you stop it?" Eric sighed. "Neither the time nor the place to discuss Mystique parenting, or rather lack there of."

"I couldn't agree more," Charles said from the doorway, Hank at his side. "We are all, in a way, concerned parents here. Let us set aside our differences for the sake of our children." Charles turned his chair and set off down the hallway, a sign that they would be taking their conversation to the privacy of his study.

Logan followed the small crowd of frustrated adults, his mind suddenly a flurry of a million thoughts, though he would never show it. Could Eric and Mystique help? Would the girls remember his training on hand to hand combat? Did Ororo always taste like berry tea? Logan started slightly at the last thought, before pushing it away. Eric and Charles had been right, this was neither the time nor the place to be thinking about anything other then how to get the girls back.

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Thank you for reading!


	14. An Ace in the Hole

Hey! Thanks for reading, but I would like to warn once more about my story containing references of sexual abuse and rape so please do not read if you are uncomfortable with that topic.

And here's my special thanks to my reviewers who really do keep this story going...Acedia RG, Hellfirefanatic, Ondjage, demonlrd66, TazzybizzyNya, and me

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Rahne had never cried so much in her life. She had been sick a few times in the toilet that was in her room, prison cell was more like it, and had tried to wash up in the sink, scratching at her skin until she bled. Nothing she could do could make her feel clean again. She felt so dirty, her body revolted her.

She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure that they had been trapped here for three days now. Three incredibly long days. Rahne was dehydrated from crying and she forced herself off her bed and to the sink. Against her will, her mind became filled with the memories of Animusereptur and what he had done so far.

He had told her that he wasn't going to rape her yet, that that would be the grand finale at the end of the third day. He wanted to enjoy the girls first, get to know their bodies before he killed them. He would come into her room, force her to lay still as he touched her and told her sick and gruesome details about what he was planning on doing. Rahne would cry the entire time, beg for him to stop but he would only laugh and continue what he was doing, even forcing Rahne to touch him.

The memories of his hands on her made Rahne shudder and she turned to the toilet, wanting to vomit again, but found that she had nothing in her left to throw up. Today was the third day, and tonight would be the end. Rahne almost felt relieved as she realized that this would be it. That in a few hours, it would all be over. She didn't want to die, didn't want to see her friends die, but anything was better then being this sick man's toy.

She sighed as she sunk to her knees, exhausted to the point of delirious. She hadn't been able to sleep at night, the sound of her friends and her own crying kept her awake. Rahne thought about all she hadn't been able to do in life, all the plans that she had constructed for herself crumbling. She'd never be able to volunteer in the Peace Corps, or become a professional photographer. She'd never drive a motorcycle or kiss a boy. She wouldn't be able to help Miss Monroe with her garden this summer, the two of them bonding over nature.

Her body burned in the places he had touched her roughly and fiercely. Her hands disgusted her the most, for he had grabbed them and forced her to feel him, and she had washed them to the point of burning in the steamy hot water of her sink. They were red and tender now, and still filthy and revolting. She felt the same way about her breasts and her womanhood, all disgusting and corrupted now.

Rahne wondered what she should do. She hated sitting around, waiting for night to come so Animusereptur could kill them and steal their souls.

She thought of beautiful Scotland, the highlands had always been her favorite area of Scotland. They were so untouched, rugged and filled with beautiful mountains. She thought then of her Presbyterian minister of a father, Reverend Craig, who had raised her under the disguise that she was an orphan, never revealing that he was in fact her father and that she was born out of wedlock (1). She loved the Reverend, she really did. He had raised her with a strict moral code, and she knew he would be disgusted with her if he ever found out about how impure she was now that Animusereptur had corrupted her.

Rahne kept on her knees and began to pray quietly, pleading to her heavenly father to provide her with comfort in her time of passing, to deliver her from this life quickly and as painlessly as possible. She wanted to beg and plead for him to save her friends from the fate she was preparing for herself, to let them keep on living but refrained and instead prayed for their comfort and salvation.

She wondered briefly on her friends religious standing. Kitty she knew was a devout Jew and also that Amara believes in the Roman Pantheon, having been raised on an island that was basically extension of ancient Rome. She had grown up speaking Latin and worshipping the Roman deities. Jean was an Episcopalian, her brother was even studying to become a clergyman for the church. Jubilee she knew was a Christian, though her religion had never been something she paid much mind to. She had once told Rahne that she believed in God, but also believed that they were alone. Rahne was fairly certain that Rouge felt the same way, the Southern Baptist girl rarely prayed. Rahne had no idea about the religious beliefs of either Tabitha or Wanda.

Rahne finished her prayer and rose to her feet, shaking slightly. She felt slightly better, comforted and almost prepared for what awaited her soon. Everyone has to die sometime, and the only good part about it was that it only had to happen once. She could die with no bitterness in her heart, she could die forgiving the man responsible.

Rahne swallowed this lie, trying to quell the anger and hate that was boiling in her stomach. She refused to spend the last hours of her life buried in bitter animosity.

The illusion of peace shattered as she heard Tabitha screaming angrily, a slew of curse words directed at Animusereptur. The sound of bone hitting bone sounded and Tabitha cried out in pain. Rahne heard her other friends then, shouting at him to leave Tabitha alone, asking if she was okay, and damning him to hell.

Rahne tried once more to revert to her wolf form, but found her powers still firmly bound. She was vaguely amazed that Wanda had enough strength to keep them all restricted for so long, but she figured that her still being under possession had something to do with it.

Rahne began to cry again, the comfort of her prayers leaving her as she felt a pang of terror for what was awaiting them. Her soul and mind would be trapped in this man, this monster. She shuffled to her small window and peered out. The moon was full and hung low in the sky and Rahne soaked in the celestial rays as her tears fell freely, smiling slightly as a new thought came to her. At least the boys were safe.

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Kurt hadn't eaten since the girls were taken, nor had he slept. All he had been doing was praying frantically in his dark room, on his knees and beseeching to God the Father. He finished the prayer of the rosary, rolling the onyx beads in between his fingers before clutching the crucifix tightly. He launched into another prayer that he knew by heart.

"Sarcalogos Nostrum Senior Vos sino quod erant tempero. Vos es validus venire contra suffragium illorum quisnam es oppugno per diabolus, Vobis es suscipio of Sarcalogos populus. O Senior, servo per Vestri Vox Manus manus qui credo Vestri Nomen. Vindico lemma ex Malum Unus, quod tribuo lemma eternus tripudium. Amen (2)," Kurt kissed the hand that held the cruxifix and stayed silent for a moment. His thoughts were immediately filled with images of Kitty or Rouge's mutilated bodies and the man responsible for their torment. Kurt growled aloud and felt hot tears stream down his cheeks. The girls weren't only facing physical death, but their souls would be captured by this man, held and tormented.

Kurt felt a harrowing numbness from the neck down, his head grew hot and heavy. They couldn't die, it wasn't right. Kurt's world had been ripped apart from the inside out, the two people he treasured most had been stolen from him and he was absolutely powerless in it all. All he could do was pray.

He slipped the rosary back over his neck and began sifting through his Patron Saint Medals, searching for the Saint to whom he would send his next prayer to. He found the medal of the Patron Saint Anthony and kissed the small amulet before pressing it in between his palms.

"O Sanctus St. Anthony, mitis of Sanctus, vestri diligo pro Deus quod Sanctimonia pro Suus creatura no vos dignus, ut in terra, potior prodigiosus vox. Miracles exspecto in vestri vox, quod vos erant umquam promptus oro illi in perturbo vel sollicitudo. Foveo hac sententia, Ego ingenero vestrum usurpo mihi prex . refero ut meus votum may postulo a miracle. Vel sic, vos es sanctus of Miracles. O mitis quod St. Anthony, cuius pectus pectoris eram umquam plenus of humanus sympathy, barba meus petition in ears of Dulcis Parvulus Jesus, quisnam diligo futurus folded in vestri telum, quod gratia of meus pectus pectoris mos umquam exsisto vestri. Amen. (3)."

Kurt said this prayer with particular depseration, pouring himself into his words. He couldn't let Kitty die, she was his heart, tied to him in a way that made her a part of him. Kurt rose from his knees and fell onto his bed, too exhausted to cry and too exhausted to sleep.

He thought on the love letter that he had once found Kitty reading. She had been sitting alone in the library, a book tucked in her lap with the fire blazing to temper the February chill. When he questioned her about what she was reading, she had laughed as she explained to him that it was the same book that Carrie Bradshaw had been reading in the Sex and the City movie (4), telling him that it was a silly girl thing. Kurt had sat down next to her, asking her to read aloud to him. She had blushed and bit her lip, tilting her head and contemplating him for a moment before nodding.

She had read aloud then from the book, and the two laughed about the corniness and mushiness of the letters, just as they often teased Scott and Jean for acting like love doves. A half hour of relaxed laughing and reading went by before the pair came upon the section of Beethoven's letters. Kitty cleared her throat dramatically, a playful smile on her face as her eyes swept across the page. Slowly the smile melted away and was replaced by a wistful and pining expression. Kurt's tail tickled her knee gently to urge her to read the letter to him and she raised her suddenly ardent eyes to his.

The first seven words of Beethoven's letter sent his heart ablaze as he watched Kitty say them slowly, shakily. Her gaze never faulted from his eyes, her look was soft and unguarded, but beyond that was longing.

Alone in his room, Kurt could still her voice as she said softly, "My angel, my all, my very self."

She had spoken the words nervously but yet she sounded so sure. Kurt had taken the book from her hand and repeated what Kitty had said in German, just as Beethoven would have said it to his love. The moment had been too perfect and all of Kurt's dreams were about to be realized as he decided that he would kiss her, that he needed to kiss her just as he needed to breathe. All his former uncertanties were melted away by Kitty's hand folding into his and the small smile on her lips that followed after. The sound of the library doors being thrown broke the moment and they looked away from each other as Bobby came marching in, complaining about midterms and prejudice teachers.

Kurt smiled at the memory. That had been the beginning of when Kurt started suspecting that Kitty may have felt something for him, however small, and it also had been the beginning of the end for him and Amanda. That moment in the library with Kitty broke his infatuation with Amanda. But she had made no move to break up with Lance and Kurt continued dating Amanda.

Kurt smiled bitterly as he looked at the picture of Kitty and himself that he had on his nightstand. He wouldn't lose her, he wouldn't allow that to happen.

"Mein Engel, mein alle, mein sehr selbst."

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Rouge hated her mutation. She always had. But especially now. While her friends were violated and molested, Rouge was kept safe by virtue of her deadly skin. Animusereptur would still come and 'visit' her, forcing her onto the bed as he touched her through her clothing and told her how much he wanted to feel all of her. She hated the bastard, hated having to hear her friends cries. She knew that her room was tucked in between Kitty's and Jean's. She knew because she could hear Jean pacing and telling Scott she was sorry that another man had touched her.

Rouge could identify Kitty's cries anywhere, they were muffled and Kitty had a slight choke when she cried alone, as though she was reluctant to let herself feel so profoundly when there was no hope of comfort, no one to catch the tears. Rouge's bed apparently shared a wall with Kitty's and she would talk to her at night, gently reassuring Kitty that it would be okay and to keep strong. She had at first thought that she was being silly, that Kitty couldn't hear her, but then Rouge noticed that Kitty's crying was different, more free and relaxed, like how she always cried to Rouge or Kurt and she knew that Kitty could hear her.

Rouge had yet to cry herself, she wouldn't allow it. Her friends were justified in their tears, they had been abused and violated, their virtue and self respect had been ripped from them violently. But Rouge would not break, she refused to give that vile man the satisfaction in seeing her tears.

Rouge sighed as she shifted on her bed. Animusereptur had fitted her with a straightjacket after she had nearly touched him and Rouge was trying her best not to hyperventilate with her arms pinned and secured to her by way of the white garment that contained a series of strips and pins. She felt completely restrained and her leg itched something fierce. The worst part was that he had taken Remy's trench coat from her, taking the only comfort Rouge had anymore. It smelled just like him, like smoke and musk and a southern comfort that she couldn't quite identify. She had cuddled with his trench coat at night, feeling the worn fabric in between her fingers.

She heard him outside her room, unlocking the door. Rouge swung her legs around and sat up on her bed, glaring at him.

"Ready to watch your friends be raped my southern bell? It really is a shame that I have to wait until I take your soul to take your body," Animusereptur sighed as he stepped into the room.

"Bullshit, my power is uncontrollable. I'd drain you before you could take me," Rouge snapped angrily.

"Are so sure about that Rouge? I'm a telepath, I can stem your powers long enough for me to steal you," he laughed, kneeling down so he was staring in her eyes. He leaned close to her, smelling her neck as Rouge shuddered.

"Should I prove to you know that you're not as untouchable as you always thought? Should I kiss you, steal your soul and force you to watch through my eyes as I make love to your lifeless body?" His whispered in her ear and Rouge felt her stomach coil. a shiver trilled down her spine and she fought the urge to curse at him.

He smiled as he stood up. "On second thought, I think watching me rape and murder your friends would be more painful, don't you think? Come, they're waiting. Foreplay is over." He left the room and Rouge mutely followed after, shuffling down the white halls and through a door that Animusereptur locked behind her.

Her friends were huddled in a large room together, all pale and tired. Bruises were evident on their faces and necks and Rouge once again felt guilt about her being spared the abuse of Animusereptur. She spotted Remy's coat on a metal chair, wrinkled and rumpled. Wanda stood alone in the room, still obviously under possession. Her hands were raised and glowing with the energy that repressed the girls mutations.

"Rouge!" Kitty yelled rushing to her friend before steeping back, taking in Rouge's attire with a raised eyebrow. "A straightjacket? What the hell did you do to piss him off?"

Rouge smirked, happy to see Kitty's sense of humor was still in place, even through all this. "I told him that I'd seen bigger plantations." Tabitha snorted and nodded her head as the other girls scowled at their lack of seriousness at thier current predicament.

"Can you three please not do anything to make this more painful then it already will be?" Jubilee pleaded with them, shaking visibly. Her normally shiny black hair had lost it's luster and hung limply around her shoulders.

Animusereptur circled them slowly. "Who should I start with?" He mused aloud, smiling at the girls obvious revulsion. They all subconsciously huddled around Rahne, maternal instincts strong in them.

"And there's my answer," he smirked as he pushed Jean out of the way and grabbed Rahne by the throat. Kitty let out a shrill scream of fury as she and Amara both held onto her arms.

"Not her! Please, just leave Rahne alone!" Jubilee pleaded as she helped Jean to her feet.

Animusereptur laughed in sick enjoyment. "Stop begging like dogs." He raised the hand that wasn't holding Rahne and scratched lightly at both Amara and Kitty and the girls gasped and fell to their knees as their skin ripped open in deep cuts.

He pulled Rahne from them as she whimpered and fought weakly against him. "Stop squirming!" he hissed as he struck her across the cheek. "Would you rather watch me torture your friends?" He asked her as he nodded to Kitty and Amara, who were biting back screams of pain as blood poured from them. Rahne's eyes brimmed with tears as she shook her head.

"Rahne," Jean sobbed. "I'm so sorry, this should never happen to you! It's so wrong, so sick! I'm so sorry!"

Rahne nodded at her friends sadly, a tiny smile on her face. "It's okay, you've done all you can. It'll be alright. I love you all."

Animusereptur laughed as he heard that before taking off his shirt, his chest just as white and pasty as the rest of him. He tugged Rahne's pajama's pants down as she let out a sharp sob.

"You're a dog... a bitch!" He snarled as his hand began violating her. Rahne's sobs became more choked and loud, her friends own sobs joining hers. He turned her around and shoved her. She feel to her hands and knees, her body convulsing with her tears.

"A bitch like you deserves it like this," He growled as he dropped to his knees behind her, his hand moving to unbutton his pants. He turned to the group of girls who were crying with desperation and pain for their friend. "Enjoy the show."

Rouge had never felt so angry in her life. She couldn't let this happen, she _wouldn't. _She glanced at the person closest to her, which was Amara who was crying softly as she squeezed her eyes shut, refusing to watch the rape of her youngest friend. Rouge threw her neck and face out to Amara, and their cheeks met. A familiar sensation flowed around her, she felt the pull of Amara's powers seeping through her and for once Rouge was unbelievably happy that her power was uncontrollable.

Amara fell to the floor unconscious and Rouge stumbled away from the close proximity of her friends, a burning sensation erupting deep within her.

"MOVE!" she screamed to the girls, who had stood in shock at Rouge's actions. They quickly complied and rushed away from her, Tabitha dragging Amara as Rouge lost control and burst into searing flames. A surge of beautiful heat seeped through her chest and Rouge allowed it to flow freely. She felt her clothes and the dreaded straightjacket turn to ash and she focused Amara's power, trying to make them as powerful as possible before a sudden clenching stilled her heart. The flames that danced across her skin melted away and simmered out and Rouge knew that Wanda had now bound her and Amara's powers. Animusereptur was in her face, his face contorted in rage, obviously wanting to strike her but could find no clothed place to land a punch.

Rouge saw Rahne over his shoulder, Jubilee helping her to her feet. Animusereptur snarled and raised his hand, swiping at Rouge's chest as sharp white pain seared through her. The contact had been too sudden and quick for her powers to absorb any of him and Rouge fell to her knees, screaming as her blood covered her naked body.

"Stupid whore!" He screamed at her. "There is nothing you can do to stop me!"

Rouge felt someone drape Remy's coat across her bloody body as she screamed in pain once more. Only two thoughts occupied her mind as she cried out.

One was that Remy was going to be _so_ pissed when he found out she had bloodied up his coat. The other, was that she hoped her plan had worked and the Professor had been in Cerebro to see the spike in her as she stole Amara's powers and that he would know where they were now. It was their last and only hope.

'Sometimes,' Rouge's mind smiled as her body screamed. 'I can really be an ace in the hole.'

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Soo... hate it, love it, want more of it? Let me know!

This chapter had many mentions of religion and the various religious affiliations of the different characters. I know that religion can be a touchy subject sometimes, so I tried to stick as close to the facts about the characters as possible. In the show, there was hardly any mention of the characters religious viewpoints and I wanted to show this side of them a little bit more.

Author's Notes:

(1) I did some research on Rahne and this is her real backstory. Scarlet Letter much?

(2) Christ Our Lord You suffered and were tempted. You are powerful to come to the aid of those who are assailed by the devil, For you are the support of Christian people. O Lord, protect with Your Right Hand those who trust in Your Name. Deliver them from the Evil One, and grant them everlasting joy. Amen.

Standard Catholic prayer of deliverance from evil. My Latin is a little rough, so forgive me if it's incorrect. Also, Kurt's devotion to his religion is one of his most defining characteristics in the comic and I couldn't help but add it in my story.

(3) Saint Anthony Blessed be God in His Angels and in His Saints. O Holy St. Anthony, gentlest of Saints, your love for God and Charity for His creatures made you worthy, when on earth, to possess miraculous powers. Miracles waited on your word, which you were ever ready to speak for those in trouble or anxiety. Encouraged by this thought, I implore of you to obtain for me (request). The answer to my prayer may require a miracle. Even so, you are the saint of Miracles. O gentle and loving St. Anthony, whose heart was ever full of human sympathy, whisper my petition into the ears of the Sweet Infant Jesus, who loved to be folded in your arms, and the gratitude of my heart will ever be yours.

Catholic prayer to Saint Anthony. He is the patron saint of lost items and missing people so I felt it was appropriate to put that in here.

(4) If you've seen the Sex and the City movie, then I'm sure you got this reference, and if you didn't see the movie, then I'm sorry for confusing you, I just felt that that one particular line was fitting for Kurt and Kitty.

(5) My angel, my all, my very self

Phew, knowing Latin and German makes this story much easier to write!


	15. First Flight of the Phoenix

Phew, took awhile to get this chapter up! I hope it was worth the wait and thanks for reading :)

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Jean picked up Rahne off the floor and cradled her like a child, the young girls body was shaking with sobs. Swiftly, Jean carried her to the farthest wall in the room, Tabitha following her and bringing the unconscious Amara. The four huddled together, trying to draw comfort from one another. Rahne had come so close to experiencing every girls worst nightmare and only Rouge's quick thinking had saved her for the time being. Jean murmured comforting words, though they were drowned out by Rouge's reluctant wails of pain.

Jean chanced a glance to the other side of the room. Rouge's crimson blood could be seen one the starch white wall and she herself was balled up on the ground with Remy's trench coat draped on her. Kitty was trying to use her body as a shield between Animusereptur and her own back was sporting deep long cuts. The girls were clinging to one another, weeping from the pain.

'Oh God,' Jean thought, gazing at her friends as if through a fog. She wasn't sure when she had started crying, but thick tears trailed the way down her cheeks and fell heavily on to Rahne's unkept hair. Rahne was clutching at Jean, curled up in her lap as her head rested on her Jean's breast. It was all over now. Jean had failed at keeping her loved ones safe. She failed at protecting them. Her heart seized violently in her chest and a sob was ripped painfully from her throat as she clutched more tightly on Rahne. Tabitha was surprisingly quite, stroking Amara's hair gently.

"Jean," Rahne whimpered. "I don't want us to die."

"Shh," Jean cooed as she squeezed her eyes shut. "I know, I know." Jubilee was standing stock still in the middle of the room, shaking violently and Jean motioned for her to join the small huddle, but the girls legs folded underneath her and she sank to the floor, her sheath of black hair falling around her like a curtain.

Kitty let out a great yelp as Animusereptur grabbed her by the hair and hauled her off of Rouge. He tossed her aside with a strength that was surprising for his size. Kitty collided with the wall and screamed as her torn back took the brute of the hit.

Animusereptur grabbed Rouge and hauled her to her feet by the collar of the trench coat. She whimpered in pain but remained limp in his arms, blood trickling from her mouth and down to her chin.

"Think you pull a stunt like that and get away with it?" He snarled as he shook her roughly.

Jean's mind narrowed as her frantic brain put two and two together and she realized what he was about to do. She scooted Rahne off her lap and was on her feet in a second, willing her legs to reach Rouge before Animusereptur's mouth did.

The air shifted abruptly in the room and Jean fell to her knees, watching in horror as Animuereptur's mouth claimed Rouge's. Her mind had always been sensitive to other mutations, she could feel how powerful they were and how strongly the attack was. When Animusereptur's lips met Rouge's, a great tremor passed through the room and for a moment the world stood still.

The current that was passing through Rouge and their soon to be murderer took Jean's breath away, made her clutch at her chest as she fought to keep her heart from erupting. This clash of mutations swirled around her, swallowing her up as she froze in horror. every detail and element of the struggle that the two were fighting against one another stabbed through Jean.

She could feel Rouge draining him, stealing his energy and at the same time she could Rouge's mind and essence being drawn into him, painfully making Rouge an empty shell. The air seemed to have been drawn out of the room and the very energy shifted drastically. Both of their skins had an eerie glow, grey and murky, as though they were in the deep sea with only a flashlight. Rouge was desperately trying to cling to herself, not let herself be taken by him. The battle of the mutations came to a sudden stop as Rouge began convulsing, her eyes rolling back into her head. A flash of brilliant passed through them and Jean knew Rouge's soul was no longer her own. Animusereptur broke the kiss and staggered away from her, gasping as he clutched at his head.

Rouge's body was still for a moment, the murky glow was gone and she looked ashen and devoid. Small wisps of silvery light were trailing from her mouth, dissipating slowly through the air. Her body glided to the floor, falling gracefully on to the hard concrete floor.

The heavy air in the room shattered almost painfully and Jean gave a gasping breath. She felt free now, the constant tightening in her chest was gone and the projections of her friends came upon her in sudden nauseating waves. She felt her mind, felt everyone else's mind in the room. Jean shot up on the her feet and let out her telekinesis in great waves, rattling the room.

'Taking Rouge must have been too much for him! He lost control of Wanda for a moment!' Jean acknowledged as Tabitha began tossing bombs at the locked door.

Wanda was clutching her head, screaming as she fought to push out her possessor and gain control. Jean sent her mind forth, attacking Animusereptur's violently. He was coming back into control, stripping Wanda of her self control and Jean's body flew back as he gave her a telepathic stab to the stomach.

All around her the girls were in a flurry. Jubilee and Rahne were trying to bring Wanda back to herself as she hexed them over and over again. Kitty was attacking Animusereptur physically and failing horribly, her body becoming more bloodied with each of his violent attacks. She was staggering and gurgling up blood but refused to allow herself to succumb to the pain that was coursing through her veins.

Jean crumbled under another telepathic onslaught and pull franticly at her mind. She drew up her telepathic power and launched it from her body, pushing it out from her chest. Her mental power personified as a silvery silhouette of her body with a bow and arrow. Jean's telepathic counterpart drew back the bow and arrow and a moment later it sung through the air, hitting Animusereptur in the chest as he raised his hands to mutilate Kitty once more.

He let out a roar and sent his own mental incarnation at Jeans, his black and shadowy. Jean closed his eyes and fought past his barriers, straining to break him down as their mental beings attacked one another viciously, psychic swords drawn. Distantly, she could Rouge calling out to her, desperately trying to get her attention and fight to break through the surface of Animusereptur's mind.

"Rouge!" Jean screamed both mentally and physically. Her mental fingers brushed against Rouge's own reaching mind and briefly, Jean felt at peace as her mind merged with hers.

'Get out! Get the others out now!' Rouge was pleading with Jean franticly.

'Rouge, no, we're not running from this! We have to help you!' She could feel Rouge being pulled away from her and clung on to her frantically.

'No, just go! Run, you can't win this Jean and he'll kill you all!' Rouge was pulled suddenly away from her and Jean felt a mental sword plunge deep through her chest. Her telepathic figure drifted away them, drawing back into her body painfully.

She crumbled to the floor and coughed up blood, her chest and mind screaming defeat. He was too strong for them, any of them. Wanda was controlling Tabitha's powers and bombs were going off everywhere. Rahne had been knocked unconsciousness by being blown back by one and Jubilee was using her own body as a shield for the unconscious Rahne, Rouge and Amara. Kitty was a bloody mess and Jean was amazed that she was still conscious.

Rouge was right, they needed to leave. Which in turn meant leaving her, something Jean did not want to do, couldn't even imagine doing. The very idea of abandoning Rouge cut deeply into her, ripped at something in her core.

Jean felt something burn deep within her, slowly boiling to a point where it would erupt. She wasn't going to let this be their end, she refused to let it happen. Dying wasn't an option. The burning sensation throbbed within her and Jean focused it, concentrating it to it's full potential until she was sure that it was going to rip her apart inside. It burst from her chest in flames, leaving Jean gasping and feeling oddly bereft, as though something from her very core had just left her. Dimly amazed at her sudden exertion of telepathic strength, Jean watched as the flaming figure of a large bird swept around the room, leaving a stream of red in it's wake. Distantly, she heard a light and mesmerizing tone and was temporarily enchanted by it. Never had she felt more out of control in her life. She felt terrified and oddly safe all at once. It was as though she knew this entity that had stripped itself from her core. Like it had resided within her before she even was born to this earth.

Her reverie was shattered when she saw Animusereptur tearing into Tabitha and her angered snapped. The song she had been hearing became distinctly more threatening and harsh and her psyche bird plummeted through the air like a bullet, ripping through Animusereptur's telepathic figure before plunging through the physical man himself. He let out a great shout and fell to his knees. The bird came out his other side and returned to Jean, pushing back into her chest as though that was it's natural perch.

As the bird melted back into her, Jean's vision was met with a brilliant flash of gold and her body felt as though she were fire, not being burned, but burning from within. As suddenly as it came, it was gone. She felt suddenly drained and weak. Her mind was throbbing in a severe ache.

Jean glanced around her. Tabitha was whimpering on the ground and Wanda seemed to be in a slight trance, as though she were stuck between becoming herself again and slipping back into possession. Jubilee was trying to rouse the unconscious girls and Kitty was struggling to sit up.

"Kitty," Jean rasped out as she mentally probed at the seemingly unconscious figure of Animusereptur. He was quickly gaining consciousness and this was their only chance of escape.

"Jean, what do we do now?" Kitty gasped, her hands sticky with her own blood.

"Get away, we need to get away. I'm too weak to use my telekinesis," Jean moaned out as her mind pounded against her skull. Whatever she had just done with the whole bird trick left her in a very bad state.

Kitty nodded and looked around her, biting back a scream of pain. Her body felt as though the flesh had been shredded from her bones violently "I think I can get us out of here... can you lift him so he doesn't follow us?"

Jean nodded weakly and gathered her strength, suspending Animusereptur off the ground as Kitty placed her hands palm down and strained. A familiar shimmering sensation took over Jean and she felt herself sinking slowly through the floor. Kitty grunted painfully, before the girls slipped completely through the floor and then onto the floor below them. Jubilee snapped her fingers and they sparker to life, bathing the room in a glowing rainbow of color.

"Damn it, Kitty," Tabitha moaned as she struggled to sit up. "Little warning next time."

"Sorry, is everyone okay?" Kitty grumbled.

"Well, other then Amara and Rahne being knocked out and Rouge currently with no soul in her, we're all great," Jubilee sighed as she shifted her unconscious friends to more suitable positions.

"Wanda? Can you hear me?" Tabitha said to the Scarlet Witch, shaking her slightly. Wanda remained unresponsive, her eyes glazed over and her body stiff.

"She's in a trance right now. Possession takes a lot of mental toll," Jean said as she pulled herself off the floor. "I'm going to have to put her under."

She stumbled to Wanda and placed her fingertips against her temples. Jean kept her mental shield strong, trying to protect her mind from Wanda's terrible memories of being in a mental hospital and her tumultuous past. She felt the intense projections of her friends, each trying to keep it together and not crumble under their pain and tightened her mental differences more, pushing into Wanda's mind. She allowed her fingers to ghost across the planes and locked doors of her mind before giving a small push.

Wanda's eyes focused for a brief moment before she crumbled and Jean caught her in her arms and lowered her gently.

"What did you do?" Tabitha demanded.

"Basically I short circuited her mind. She's too dangerous, and being in an asylum makes her mind susceptible to control," Jean replied.

"Hold still Jubes," Kitty said imploringly as she ripped savagely at her pajama clad leg. The soft pink flannel tore off and she limped over to Jubilee, picking her way through the dark room. Kitty dabbed at Jubilee's open cuts as the younger girl hissed quietly before mumbling a small thanks.

"Fuck, we have to get out of here," Tabitha swore as she paced. She stopped and placed her hands against the wall, trying to gauge the density and support struts that the wall hosted.

"Are you kidding me? He has Rouge! We're not going anywhere!" Kitty snapped out, pressing a little harder then necessary at a cut on Jubilee's chest. "We're fighting for our friend!"

"And what about your other friends! Four of them are out, there's no way we'll survive if we have to fight again," Tabitha reasoned as she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Kitty let out a mewl of frustration and begrudgingly allowed Tabitha's comfort. The three girls turned to Jean for leadership, their faces cast in the eerie glow of Jubilee's colorful plasmic

Rouge's early words echoed through Jean's mind. Her plea with Jean to leave her, to get away and make sure the others were safe. Jean took a sweeping glance over her friends, noting their bruised and battered forms before looking down at her fallen peers. Wanda seemed peaceful, asleep almost as Amara mumbled incoherently next to her. Rahne had a trickle of blood running from her forehead down her neck. And Rouge. Rouge was a shell, empty and gone. Tabitha was right, they were too exhausted and weak to fight anymore.

Jean trembled slightly as a new presences began stirring a floor above her and she knew that Animusereptur was coming to awareness, ready to find them and make them pay. She closed her eyes and grasped for the right answer and the proper plan of action. Rahne whimpered almost inaudibly and Jean made her decision.

"Tabitha, make us a door. We're leaving," she murmured, staring steadily into Kitty's suddenly furious blue eyes.

"So that's it! We run away like chickens and leave Rouge!" Kitty demanded, throwing down the now blood soaked flannel cloth. It made a sickening splat as landed on the cold concrete floor.

"Yes, that's it. We run to survive," Jean closed her eyes against the tears that threatened to spill. "And we leave Rouge because we have to."

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Scott was dimly amazed that they were traveling so fast. But still, it didn't seem fast enough. He fidgeted in his seat, much like all the other guys in their jet. With the Blackbird gone, the X-Men had to borrow one of Magneto's. Currently, they were flying parallel to Magneto's personal jet and cruising at extreme speeds thanks to a combination of Storm's controlled winds and Eric's own manipulation of the metal jets.

An hour ago, the Professor had mentally called everyone to his study as the other adults rushed from the mansion. The professor had told them that cerebro had found the girls, though he refused to give them anymore information except that the girls were located in a valley nestled in the mountains of Nebraska.

A million concerns were pulsing through Scott's mind. Two emotions were at war in his head. Relief that they had finally found the girls and concern about what they would find. He was ready to fight, ready to hold the girls, ready for this all to be over finally.

Remy was shuffling his card beside him, his look unreadable. Bobby was already iced up, cold pouring off him waves. They were all quiet, all steadying themselves, steeling themselves for the fight to come. Scott was slightly curious as to what each of the guys were thinking. Which of the guys were revving themselves up for the fight, and which of the guys were struggling for self control to keep themselves from ripping Animusereptur to shreds when they found him. He knew he was the latter section.

Scott was a fighter. A leader, yes. But a fighter first. It was what he knew, what he was comfortable with. He thought briefly on the girls and which of them were fighters, which of them were handling their torture the best. Rouge he knew was, fighting was her protection and what she was good at. And Jean understood the importance of battling for what you believe. Rahne was such a soft, sweet girl, fighting did not come naturally to her and Scott was sure the trauma of the past few days would weigh heavy on her, if she was still alive. Kitty was a protector by nature, not only because of her defensive power but because of the level of emotion she fought with. He hoped with all his heart that the girls were still fighting, that he wouldn't step of this plane to be greeted by their mutilated bodies.

Kurt was murmuring in Latin beside him and Scott watched as he clutched the necklace of the Patron Saint Archangel Michael.

"Sancte Michael Archangele, defende nos in proelio; contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperat illi Deus; supplices deprecamur: tuque, Princeps militiae coelestis, Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute in infernum detrude. Amen. (1)"

"Praying for protection in this battle?" Scott mumbled, remebering that Saint Archangel Michael was the Roman protector in battle.

Kurt took a gasping breath and shook his head. "Protection, yes. Not for myself though. I know my friends, I know myself and I know that this man will need all the protection he can get when we find him. I pray for our self control and for those that are at the recieving end of our wrath."

Scott raised his eyebrows and looked at the usually gentle teenage boy who he felt as close to as his own brother.

"You make it sound as though you're like Logan, about to lose it any second and go wild."

Kurt offered him a bitter grin. "I was born with the appearance of a demon, fearful that I belonged in hell rather on Earth. What I want to do to this man, truly shows how demonic I am capable of being."

"We're all capable of being something dark, capable of doing sinister things. Do you always feel like you belong in Hell?" Scott asked, thinking about he own desire to tear this man apart and how that probably earned him a spot next to the devil himself. and it would be worth it too. He'd lie in hell forever with a smile on his face if it meant giving this man what he deserved.

Kurt nodded in agreement and wrapped his tail around his arm, sighing.

"Often times I do. But then people remind me I have a heart, that who I am is not defined by how I look," Kurt said firmly.

Scott took a moment to look at Kurt. _Really_ look at him. The first time Scott had rested eyes on Kurt, he was shocked, but not frightened. And then after that initial meeting, Kurt's unusual looks never really registered to Scott. He was always smiling, or laughing. But there had been the rare few instances were Kurt became something so much more then the funny guy. His eyes would glow, his fur would bristle and he would growl. Kurt was right, there was something deep in him, a monster of sorts. But then again, don't we all play host to inner demons? Scott certainly knew that he did.

Scott rested his head against his seat, the strain of three stressful days burning at him. But more then that was the rage and adrenaline to fight, to hold Jean again and kiss away the pain that she must have faced. That is, if she's still alive. She could already be gone.

Something tugged at Scott's heart and he pushed the thoughts of Jean being dead out of his mind. He would know if she died, he would feel it as keenly as his own death. She was a breathing, living part of him, under his skin, into his bones. Her death would signal the crumbling of the universe, or at least his universe.

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Kitty was livid. She was humiliated, violated and in pain. But above all that, she was furious. They were suppose to be a team, fight and defend one another, but now they were going to leave one of their own to a fate worse then death. She understood the logic of why they were leaving, why they had to escape but her blind fury made it hard for her to reason right.

"Leave Rouge?!" Kitty hissed quietly, keeping in mind that Animusereptur was probably searching for them.

"Yes, you heard me. Kitty, look at us! We couldn't even help Rouge if we went back, he has her soul and we have no idea how to get it back!" Jean reasoned, as she placed her fingertips on Rahne's forehead, trying to coax her to awareness.

"She's right," Jubilee mumbled, wiping away tears. "This is our only hope for escape. And Rouge's best shot is if we go and get help, which we can't do if we're trapped here."

"So, it's settled. Can I blow this wall to hell now?" Tabitha asked, patting her hand against the wall that she had decided could be sacrificed.

Rahne began to stir and Jubilee helped her to her feet as Jean moved on and tried to wake up Amara.

"Never mind making a door. I can sense that he's close, we'll never make it out of here if he knows where we left from," Jean sighed as Amara's eyelids fluttered softly. "Come on Princess, we need you awake."

"I can take us through," Kitty offered as she took Jubilee and Rahne by the hands. She walked to the far wall and phased her head through, checking to make sure she wasn't about to phase them off the face of a cliff.

She almost wept as she felt the cold night air on her skin. Freedom, finally. She felt compelled to simply run. she saw a lake shimmering through some trees and smiled in appreciation. It felt so good to be out. But Rouge wasn't out and that knowledge cut away at her heart.

Kitty hauled Jubilee and Rahne through the wall, wincing with the effort it took to even use her phasing ability. Her body still burned in the places where Animusereptur had sliced open her skin and she wanted to sink in the lake and scrub off her skin, off the memories of his hands and his mouth.

"Go hide in those trees," she instructed to the two girls as she took a quick look around.

Satisfied that they would be safe for now, she slipped back into the wall and helped steady a staggering Amara.

"I'm fine," she mumbled. "Just very tired, a little dizzy. Remind me to thank Rouge later."

Kitty inhaled sharply as she shook her head. "Can't. Rouge's gone." she said sharply.

Amara's postured straightened abruptly and she accessed Kitty through bleary eyes.

"What do you mean? She's right there," she nodded to Rouge's limp body, which Tabitha was carefully positioning on her shoulders.

"What you see there is a shell, Rouge's soul and mind are gone," Kitty said in a harsh tone, glaring at Jean who was bending down to pick up Wanda. "Come on, Amara. You need some fresh air."

Kitty ghosted through the wall, catching Amara as she swayed in the cool night wind.

"Wow, I was beginning to think I would never see outside again," Amara sighed as she staggered away from Kitty and fell to her knees. Jubilee and Rahne rushed from the cover of the tress and helped up their friend.

Two more phasing trips later and all the girls were gathered on the outside of their own personal hell, crouching in the grass and out of sight.

"Okay, we need to get away fast," Jean began. "He's not at full strength yet, but he will be soon and then he'll be able to telepathically locate us."

"And why can't I just burn the place?" Amara asked.

Kitty bite down hard on her tongue, reminding herself that all the girls were exhausted and not thinking properly. "We need him alive. We don't know what effects killing him will have Rouge's soul, and we can't take any chances."

"Kitty's right," Jean nodded. "We need to get away from him, but we're weak right now. So, we're going to have to remember Logan's training on stealth and hiding."

"Speak for yourself, the badger failed me for that lesson," Tabitha mumbled.

"I guess our only option is to go by foot," Rahne said.

Jean nodded as they all got to their feet. "Yea, we better get started."

Kitty turned from her friends and back towards the asylum. "Go and be careful."

Jean gasped. "Don't even think about it Kitty!"

"Sorry, but even if he does steal my soul, at least Rouge won't be alone," Kitty said as she pressed her palms against the brick wall and rested her forehead on it. She breathed the fresh air deeply, trying to memorize the feel of freedom before she gave it away again, and maybe for the final time. The air around her tightened and Kitty struggled to turn her head and look amusedly at Jean.

"You and I both know that holding me telepathically is useless."

"Kitty, you're being irrational! Just listen to me, it doesn't do anybody any good if you go back in there! And we do not have the time to stand here and argue about this, you're coming with us!" Jean pleaded as the other girls nodded.

"Jean, tell me honestly. If you weren't responsible for all the girls safety and leading them, would you be doing what I'm about to do?" Kitty asked, knowing that Jean wanted to go back to fight for Rouge just as much as Kitty did. But Jean had to be responsible, all the girls were relying on her and there was no room for rash and dangerous situations, at least not in Jean's case. Kitty was a different story.

Jean didn't answer her question but instead tried a new approach. "You're right, I'm responsible for you. Listen to me, and come with us!"

Kitty shook her head and began phasing out of Jean's telepathic chokehold and through the wall. "Maybe next time you see I'll be a real ghost," she joked weakly.

"So not funny Pryde!" she heard Jubilee hiss before she left her friends behind.

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I'll try and get the next chapter up soon. Hope you enjoyed it and review of you like.

Author notes:

1. Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in the battle, be our safeguard and protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; may God rebuke him, we humbly pray; and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan and all evil spirits who wander through the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

One of my personal favorite prayers, once again lots of emphasis on Kurt's religion.


	16. Our Deepest Friends, Our Darkest Enemies

Hello :) Thank you for reading my little story! I'm having lots of fun writing it and I hope you're enjoying reading it just as much.

Special thanks to my reviewers: xxkittyxxkattxx; halloweenbaby; blackrose5242; RogueNya; demonlrd66; AcediaRG; sailormoon846212; me; Hellfirefanatic

Your reviews keep this story going!

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Kitty's body officially hated her. Her phasing was acting sketching, occasionally making her sink down into the floor, something that often happened when she was in pain. Blood was everywhere on her, sticky and slick. She was terrified, but she was determined to be there for Rogue. She felt her way quietly through the dark halls, not quite sure where she was intending on going, just sort of hoping that Rogue would somehow guide her.

Their relationship had been rather strained at first, the girls were both trying to adjust to their new lifestyle when they first met. Kitty hated sharing a room with her at first, not because Rogue was messy or anything but because she simply made Kitty uncomfortable. Made her feel like a silly little girl who didn't realize how good she had it. And Rogue was right. That was how Kitty acted the first few months she was at the institute. Acting as though being a mutant was such a horrible thing, like the world should revolve around her and that her complaints were more important then anyone else's.

Then Kitty started becoming a team member, someone that the others should be able to rely on and trust, and she should be able to do the same in return. Something shifted and changed in her when she began the bonds that only battle brings. Kitty began actually paying attention, looking beyond herself and her own selfish feelings. She saw the wonderful people surrounding her, caring about her even though she didn't return the affection. Scott stopped being a cute older guy and became her leader, a brother of sorts who really should take time to loosen up. Storm didn't seem like the aloof goddess anymore, to Kitty she was a concerned aunt and mentor and Jean was someone to turn to for advice. And Logan stopped being the scary guy with claws and who grunts and began being like a dad, kinda. Okay, maybe not like a dad, sorta an overprotective uncle on steroids.

Kitty saw Rogue and Kurt through a different light too. She started taking the time to care about them, notice them. And they broke her heart. The two of them had every reason in the world to be angry and bitter, but never did they allow that to happen. Slowly, the ice between Rogue and Kitty melted away and eventually a friendship was created. Though Kitty had never told Rogue this, but she inspired her, more then Scott's boring motivational speeches or even one of Logan's rare 'I'm proud of you''. Every day Kitty would watch Rogue smile despite all that she faced, all the torment that simmered below the surface and she couldn't help but feel love toward the reclusive girl.

And of course, Kurt had weaseled his way into Kitty's heart also. He irritated the crap out of her, popped out of no where and made her want to bounce her head off of a door at least once a day. But Kitty began seeing past the facade, and into the man that Kurt kept hidden. And that's when her world began crashing down, only to be built up to something much more beautiful.

In the darkness of the hallway, Kitty smiled as she thought of Kurt. She wanted to see him again, to tell him that it was all her fault that his only sister was currently a body without a soul. Kitty decided that a lifeless body sounded better then being a tormented soul, though Rogue was currently both. She knew Kurt would be furious about what had happened to Rogue. As would Remy and Logan.

The thought of the three men, who didn't exactly get along under normal circumstances, coming together to avenge Rogue made Kitty chuckle lightly and also made tears sting at her eyes. Kitty should have fought harder, helped out her friend more. And now she was lost, possibly forever.

A sudden ache tore at Kitty's heart. The notion of never seeing Rogue or Kurt again pained her and she steadied herself against a doorway, trying to focus on the mission at hand and push past the emotions that made tears well in her eyes.

The air shifted around her and Kitty stilled, her blood running cold. The familiar and disconcerting feeling of someone reaching for her mind made her glance around in the dark, falling into a fighting crouch of Logan's that was painful in her condition. The mental figures were unfamiliar and she scrambled to put up her shields, though she knew it was in vain.

'This is what you came back here for,' Kitty reminded herself as her body began the ancient battle between fight or flight. 'You came back for a confrontation.'

Sudden flashes of images of Rogue surrounded her and Kitty bit back yelling out in surprise. He was baiting her, trying to make her disoriented.

'Isn't this what you wanted?' Animusereptur's voice began violating her body much like his hands had violated her only hours before. 'To see your friend.'

"Let her go," Kitty demanded, squinting in the dark. They were both at a disadvantage with the inability to see, but Kitty didn't have her own personal sonar system that could pick up on telepathic vibes.

Rogue's voice suddenly filled the hall, screams of pain echoing as Kitty cried out to her.

"Kitty!" the voice sounded so far away, yet was whispered straight into her mind.

"Rogue, it's alright! I won't leave you, you've had to many people betray you before, but I won't!" Kitty promised aloud, vaguely aware that this was disorienting her further, making her mental shields crumble as she reached out for Rogue, which in turn made her reach out for Animusereptur. He had a plan, Kitty was sure of it and baiting her like this was part of it. But her desperation to talk to and assure Rogue made her careless and clumsy.

"Kitty, you stubborn stick, leave!" Rogue's voice still had tinges of pain in it, though urgency and irritation seemed to be the overall tone. Her voice hitched at the end and cries of repressed pain made Kitty cringe.

The voice was moving away from her, down the dark hall, trailing away from her like smoke. Kitty sprinted after it in the dark, calling out, crying for her to hold on.

"Rogue, don't leave me!" Kitty yelled as she ran, ignoring her bodies protests to her sudden charge, the cuts on her body tore open with the movement of her muscles and limbs. She suddenly collided with a sickeningly familiar figure that held her tight and terror seized her heart as Rogue's essence completely left her.

Kitty immediately began fighting against him as he pulled her close to his body, pressing her between the wall and his repulsive body. Kitty began to phase herself but stopped as she felt the same familiar scratching.

"Not again!" Kitty wailed in frustration as her skin split open, spilling her blood once more. She was torn between feeling bitter pain and absolute repulsion.

"Then let's try a different approach," He hissed in her ear.

Kitty's world clouded around her, a thick, hazy fog filled her and she tried to cling to comprehension. A sense of suffocation gripped her, refusing to let her go as she fought. His mind was in hers, not just reading it or probing it, but filling it, drowning out her own voice of control. Every secret in her mind and every emotion she was feeling merged with his, binding them together as Kitty lost herself.

Kitty heard someone screaming and tried to form the words to reassure Rogue that it was alright, that it would be okay. The screams only got louder and Kitty was suddenly aware that Rogue wasn't screaming at all, that it was actually herself that was making noises that should only be made by the condemned who dwelled in hell. And then the pain set in, and her screams only got louder as her body stopped being her own, becoming a puppet for him to play with and use.

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Amara stilled, a scream ripping through the otherwise quiet night. The girls turned back towards the asylum, listening with pained expressions. They hadn't made it far through the woods, just to the other side of the lake, the unconscious bodies of Rogue and Wanda prevented a quick escape.

She watched as Jean flinched and turned away from her friends, steeling herself against the screams. Amara knew that she was preparing herself to make yet another hard decision. She knew it was nesscary, that Kitty had gone back in there knowing what she would be facing, but still it felt so wrong to leave them behind.

The screams died out and Jubilee made a small whimper, reaching her hand out to the asylum as though trying to lend her strength to their lost friends.

"Let's keep moving," Jean said firmly, her voice brooking no argument on the decision.

Rahne looked as though she wanted to disagree, but closed her mouth and hugged her arms to her chest. Amara placed a hand on her shoulder.

"They'll be fine, they're strong," she said, brushing a strand of blood soaked hair off of Rahne's forehead.

"I know," Rahne sighed. "Let's focus on getting us out of here."

Jean nodded as she telekinetically lifted Rogue and Wanda.

"I don't know which way we should go, I can't use my telepathy to find a town. He'll pick up on my mental vibes if I do," she grumbled as she accidentally knocked Rogue's head off of a low hanging branch. "Oops, she's not going to like that."

"I think I can hear a road a few miles ahead," Rahne offered, her wolf senses keener then the rest of the girls. "If I'm in wolf form I can be there in a few minutes and scope it out."

"Alone?" Jubilee shook her head firmly as she stumbled over a root. "Un-uh."

"I'll be fine, he can't read my mind if I'm in wolf form so if he sees me, he'll think I'm just a wolf," Rahne pointed out. "At least we'll have a direction to go. We could end up lost in the woods if we keep going like this."

Jean sighed and wrung her hands slightly, causing the levitating girls to twirl gently in the air. "Fine, go and come right back."

Rahne nodded and slipped into her wolf form, leaving her pajamas behind at Amara's feet.

"Let's stop here and wait for her," Jean said lowering Wanda and Rogue carefully. They knelt by the lake and kept quiet, silent in their own thoughts and to nervous for conversation.

Amara took Rahne's dirty clothes and dipped them into the cool lake water, scrubbing the fabric together in the attempt to rid it of Rahne's blood, sweat and tears. And also of the disgusting sweat of their kidnapper. The thought of him touching her and her friends brought a surge of disgust through her and she cupped water in her hands and splashed her face, trying to clear her thoughts and clean herself.

The other girls had now joined her, trying to rid themselves of his feel and touch.

"He didn't-" Tabitha began, trying to ask the question gently. The girls understood what she was getting at and shivered lightly.

"No, not me at least. I don't know what I would have done if he had," Jubilee answered briskly, setting about the task of cleaning Rahne's pants. "It's like I can just feel him on me." she hissed viciously.

"Same with me," Jean cringed.

"At least he didn't _totally_ destroy us," Tabitha offered weakly, scrubbing at her neck which sported dark bruises from where his hands held her tight.

Jubilee tore at her already battered shirt, soaking the liberated strip in the water. She then knelt over Rogue, pulling aside Remy's trench coat. Her fingers grazed against her pale skin and Jubilee flinched, expecting the draining that came with the contact.

"Rogue's always wanted to touch," she mumbled, carefully dabbing at the healing cuts on Rogue's chest. Her body looked mutilated and beaten, the deep and long cuts surely would have killed her, if they hadn't been a mutant's doing.

"Yea but I doubt that she wanted her soul in exchange," Tabitha pointed out bitterly.

"I don't know if I'll ever feel safe again," Amara closed her eyes tightly, reliving for a moment the dreadful times when Animusereptur would touch her. His heavy breathing, crushing weight on top of her, his bruising hands.

"Amara," Jean said firmly, yet her tone was gentle.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to project," she said, trying to draw her emotions back in, to bury the pain.

"I know, but we can't give off any strong emotions, we can't even think too loudly, he'll find us," Jean reminded them. "I think once we find that road, we'll be far enough away so-"

A wolf's cry ripped through their whispered conversation and the girls heart froze. They all jumped to their feet and listened closely.

"Rahne!" Jubilee called out into the trees, not caring who heard her. She began to run to the sound of the cry, and Jean lunged forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

"Damn it!" Jean cursed. "He found her! How could he have known it was her? Stay here, and stay together. I'll be right back, and if anything happens to me I'll send out a message. If I'm not back in five minutes, leave. Get as far away as possible."

She levitated in the air and out of sight a moment later. The girls tried to gather themselves, Jubilee and Amara pacing as Tabitha sunk on to the ground next to the unconscious Wanda and Rogue.

"Not Rahne too! This is just like a horror movie, picking us all off one by one," Jubilee cried out in frustration, kicking a nearby tree.

"Sweetie, this is worse then a horror movie. This is a psycho rapist with mutant abilities and a serious case of sadism and he's coming for us," Tabitha said harshly.

Amara cringed as the words carelessly left her mouth. "Tab, _please._"

"Sorry, I know, it's not helping," Tabitha sighed as she squinted into the night, absently drumming her fingers on Wanda's limp arm.

"It's fine," Amara assured, though her skin crawled. On her island home of Nova Roma, she grew up worshiping and respecting the virgin Roman Deities, specifically Vesta, the virgin goddess of fire. When she got home, if she got home, she would have to make a sacrifice and offer it to her Goddesses. Juno would not be happy with her failing to protect herself and her purity.

The three sat in silence for the next few minutes, scanning the trees for their missing friends as their concern began building.

Amara shook her head as sighed.

"Five minutes is up," she mumbled as she motioned for Tabitha to help her drape Rogue across her shoulders.

"Hey," Jubilee hissed, nudging her in the side. She pointed towards the trees and stiffened, falling into a quick defensive position.

"See something?" Tabitha asked as she mimicked her movements.

Amara pulled Jubilee behind her and turned into her blazing form, lighting up all the dark shadows that lurked around them. She knew it was a risky move, practically a giant arrow pointing at where they were hidden but if Animusereptur had already spotted them and was moving in for an attack then they had better be ready.

Amara took a moment to enjoy the wonderful burning sensation that coursed through her, her powers were finally unbidden and free. She still felt a little weak since Rogue had drained her, but other then that she felt better then she had in days. She clapped her hands together and forced her body to glow more brightly. The brilliant glow from her body broke through the darkness and her three missing friends stepped forward, shadows playing across their faces. Rahne was still in wolf form, her fur bristled and Jean was levitating off the ground her red hair swirling around her. Kitty looked almost sickeningly amused, like she was watching a rodent slowly die, an expression on her face that Amara had seen too much of these past few days.

"Are you alright? He didn't find you?" Jubilee asked cautiously, backing away slightly.

"On the contrary, I found you. How rude of you to have left my party, just when it was getting to the good part," Kitty's mouth spoke, though it wasn't her voice. It was the same voice that had whispered sick things in the girls ears as they cried.

The girls gasped and backed away, readying their powers.

"Stop controlling them you sick bastard!" Tabitha demanded as she produced a fistful of bombs. Rahne growled and snarled as she began circling her as Tabitha froze, not willing to hurt the innocent girl.

Amara looked for an opportunity to take down her friends without hurting them. It was impossible really, her powers, like Jubilee and Tabitha, were simply destructive and damaging. If only Jean were herself, then she could telepathically disable them. Kitty were Kitty and not a puppet, then she would be able to phase her fingers through their head and render them unconscious without too much harm and Rogue could simply drain them. But the fact remained that the only way the girls were getting away from their friends was with a lot of damage and a possible, and highly likely, forest fire.

A wonderful and very familiar sound filled Amara's ears and her eyes immediately scanned the sky as her heart leapt in joy. Two jets could be seen in the horizon, flying fast as the wind around them picked up. Jubilee squealed in elation and grabbed for Amara's but the girl quickly stepped out of reach.

"I'm on fire right now, remember?"

The possessed Kitty looked up with a grimace. "I was right, they are coming." She sighed and fixed the three girls with a bitter glare.

Amara's mind suddenly began to throb and she clutched it as she crumbled to the ground. She'd been around enough to telepathy to know that this wasn't your average psychic kick in the brain, it was something more, evasive and domineering. A presence seeped into her and Amara opened her mouth to shout but found very different words leave her in a very different, and chillingly familiar, voice.

"Well my ladies, how about we give our new guests a proper welcome?" What really frightened Amara was that she watched in helpless horror as her friends, all of them save for the two who were still unconscious, nodded in agreement. They each wore a similar expression, much like the one Kitty had had, and Amara was sure that her own face mirrored theirs as well.

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All his life seemed to come down to this moment in time. Ray recalled fighting apocalypse and even that paled in comparison to how this felt. This energy, this adrenaline, this anger thrilled him and scared him as the jets looked for a place to land. Ray was simply ready for this. The lights in the jet flickered for a moment, the high speeds that Magneto and Storm had forced them to travel at was taxing to their inner mechanisms.

"Damn it Mags," Logan cursed impatient;y from the pilot's seat. He fiddled with his headset, and spoke gruffly into the mic. "Just land the damn jets!"

The guys around him were already out of their seats, preparing themselves as Scott went over his battle plan.

"I'll be leading a team into the asylum and attacking Animusereptur while another team goes in and gets the girls out," Scott said looking over at his friends. For his team he needed people with moderate resistance to telepathy and was inwardly debating who should go. "Kurt, lead the other team to get the girls. Grab them and port right into here. Jamie, Sam and Bobby, provide cover for him."

Kurt nodded, while he wanted to fight Animusereptur himself, he wanted more to find the girls and end this terror for them.

"And I'll be taking Roberto, Ray and Remy," Scott said as the three boys nodded. He had picked those three because they were fighters and their all four of their powers combined could pack an awful big punch. "The Professor will be fighting him telepathically so hopefully that won't be a problem for us." Scott said, nodding to their mentor. The Professor was sitting with his eyes closed, a grim look on his face. He exchanged a grim look with Storm who narrowed her blue eyes in comprehension.

"And what'll Logan be doing?" Sam asked as he nodded to him.

Logan looked over his shoulder with a hard look. "Coming with you. Think I'd miss a chance to rip this man to shreds?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea. Can't we just go in there and kick his ass?" Roberto demanded as the jets shook slightly.

"No, we need a plan," Scott said firmly. "If we don't he'll take us down easily."

"It's taking too long to land," Remy said impatiently. He walked over to the door and wedged his bo staff, charging it until the door fritzed out and fell to the ground below.

"And here we go," Bobby said as he jumped the 15 feet to the ground, the other guys following after. They landed on the ground in front of a lake, the only light coming from the full moon that filled the night sky and also from an eerie glow coming from the trees, like someone had lit a giant bon fire. The bon fire grew larger and the light spread across the lake, and the source of the light was coming from a very familiar figure from a close distance.

The orange glow cast lit up the area around the guys and what they saw made their hearts flood. The girls stood at the other side of the lake, or in Jean and Kitty's case, in the middle of the lake. They looked beaten up and bloodied, tired and sad. But they were alive.

The guys nearly crumbed with relief, with absolute elation that the girls were still alive and in one piece. Remy was the only one who didn't cry out in joy, his heart breaking as he found that they were missing one southern bell. She was gone, not standing there and glaring at him. Anger pooled in Remy's gut. He knew Rogue was injured, he could _feel_ it. And he was going to make Animusereptur pay.

"Liebes!" Kurt choked out, spreading his arms out for Kitty as an invitation to come to him, to let him be her rock through this time of need.

"Elf, don't," Logan warned from behind them, having finally landed the jet. The Professor and Storm were next to him, both looking crestfallen and bitter.

"What do you mean don't?" Bobby demanded.

The Professor sighed and shook his head. "It looks as though we'll not only be fighting Animusereptur, but our girls as well. They are his psychological prisoners right now."

The guys grimaced as they shook their heads.

"No! We can't fight them! They're too weak right now and we might end up killing them," Ray said as the wind swirled around them, Storm already in the air.

"We have no other choice," Logan said.

A wolfs howl broke through the night, coming from the sweet and gentle Rahne. This seemed to signal the attack for the girls and they all rushed forward, about to fight a battle that neither side wanted to win, but couldn't afford to lose. Their deepest friends had now became their darkest enemies.

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Once again, thank you for reading. This chapter was more like a transitional chapter, the next chapter will have a lot more action and a lot of Remy goodness! no one messes with Rogue and gets away with it ;)


	17. Falling Away from You

Hello everyone! Thank you for taking time to read my little story (well not that little, it's like 130 pages) and I really hoped you all enjoy it!

A thousand thanks to my wonderful reviewers: halloweenbaby, xxkittyxxkattxx, blackrose5242 (and don't worry blackrose, OxL will develop further) RogueNya, AcediaAG, rogue-scholar07, sailormoon846212, me, Hellfirefanatic and demonlrd66 (who has some amazing stories herself)

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Bobby took a moment to look at the mess around him. The girls were unrelenting and fierce in their attacks, the guys were reluctant and unwilling to retaliate, and as a result, getting their butts kicked. He'd never seen the girls fight like this...it was all hate, they weren't holding anything back, and they simply were not themselves.

"Bobby! Take Amara!" Scott's shout brought Bobby back to the chaos around him and he sent a stream of ice at the blazing girl. The air was already clouding with thick smoke, trees burning from the lava that flowed around them. Storm was high above them, sending rain down to quell the flames as the Professor stayed near the jet, telepathically struggling for the girls freedom.

Bobby glanced around, noting how his friends were doing. Scott was evenly matched with a furious Jubilee, their plasmic blasts colliding together. Roberto and Sam were falling prey to Jean, being tossed about like rag dolls. Tabby was tossing bombs at the porting Kurt, trees crashing down around them. Rahne was attacking Ray, biting at his exposed flesh. Kitty phased herself up out of the ground behind Scott and Bobby watched in horror as she calmly phased her hand through his head. Scott fell to his knees, clutching his head as it throbbed from the invasion of Kitty's fingers. Magneto shredded his jet and twisted the metal into long strips. The strips snaked forward and wrapped itself around each of the girls, binding them tightly, but not for long. Magneto marched to the dors of the asylum and ripped them off, sending them flying.

"Xavier, these girls are your problem. My daughter is my only concern," Magneto said coolly before walking into the dark halls of the asylum.

Kitty simply phased herself through the metal as Amara melted hers and then Jubilee's. Jean telepathically forced the metal off of her as Kitty phased Tabitha and Rahne from their shackles. She then tackled Sam and sank him into the ground as Roberto was blown backwards by a bomb the size of a grapefruit produced by Tabitha. Jean was now facing off with Storm, the two circling around each other in the sky, lightening cracking in the clouds. Sam suddenly surged from the Earth, shooting high up into the air. He positioned his body and collided violently with Jean.

A sudden blast of heat scorched Bobby's back and melted the ice he had encased himself in. He fell to the ground, but was sure that it was only first degree burns. He turned and tackled Amara, thickening his ice skin so he could stand the heat that was coursing from her body. The two rolled into the lake and Bobby immediately set about freezing the water, chilling it as Amara countered him, trying to bring it to boil. Bobby was the stronger of the two and a thin sheet of ice began covering the surface.

Bobby hesitated and stopped as Amara began shivering violently, her normally bronze skin tinted with blue. Bobby swam through the slushy water and grabbed her, pulling her close to him, the cold feeling natural to him.

"Amara! I'm so sorry," he muttered, trying to block out the sounds of the battle around him. Rahne's snarls pierced his heart and the cries of his friends, both possessed and not possessed, shook him bad. This wasn't suppose to happen, he wasn't suppose to hurt the girls. None of them were suppose to hurt the girls. They were meant to protect them, keep them safe and save them, not make it worse.

Bobby swam to the shore, pulling Amara's limp body with him. He staggered back onto the solid ground, trying to dodge the battle around him. Jubilee and Ray were facing off with one another as Kitty fell into hand to hand combat with Scott. He was much bigger and stronger then her, but pinning down a person you couldn't touch was tough.

"Kurt!" Bobby cried out as he sank to his knees, too weak to make it to the jet to deposit Amara's body. Bobby watched as Kurt landed a kick to Tabitha's back, the blonde falling forward. Bobby called for Kurt once more and the blue mutant looked up and was at Bobby's side in a moment.

"Bobby, is she alright?" Kurt demanded as he placed a hand on Amara's wet and cold forehead.

"I went too damn far!" Bobby cursed, surprised to feel tears stream down his face. He was exhausted, emotionally and physically and even though he knew it was nesscary to fight Amara, he still felt as though he betrayed her. She's my friend, and look what I've done!"

"Bobby, calm down," Kurt said, picking up the girls shivering body. "She'll be fine."

Amara whimpered and licked her lips.

"So cold, so cold," she chattered through her teeth, her body convulsing slightly.

"You'll be fine, Mara. I'm sorry," Bobby said as he clutched her hand, momentarily forgetting that he should be with his other friends, helping them fight against the girls. But Amara was in this state because of him, of what he did.

"Bobby, I'm going to melt your game system when we get home," she attempted to snarl but wheezed as the cold air invaded her tight and icy lungs.

Kurt and Bobby sighed in relief, and chuckled weakly. Amara was herself again, no longer was she under Animusereptur's control. Bobby turned his head and searched for the Professor, finding him tucked into the shadows. Their eyes met and the Professor gave him a small smile before sliding his eyes shut, focusing on freeing the other girls like he had freed Amara.

"I'm going to take her to the jet," Kurt said. Bobby nodded as he turned his attention back to the fight that surrounded him.

"Well, one down and five to go," he muttered as Tabitha pelted Roberto with bombs, the Brazilian trying to dodge the damage around him.

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Remy entered the asylum immediately after the girls had attacked, knowing that the other guys could handle what was going on out there. He had to find Rogue, nothing else mattered to him now. The world could burn for all he cared, as long as Rogue was okay.

The halls were dark, but that didn't other Remy. His demon eyes were highly sensitive and he could see the layout of the halls around him. He also had Mystique and Logan with him, the two of them also with heightened senses.

"Logan?" Remy questioned in a whisper, his bo staff at the ready. He felt a calm contradicting the fury and anxiety he felt. Half of him felt like he always did right before he pulled off a heist, cool and collected. The other half of him was sick with worry and boiling with anger.

"The girls scents are all over this place Gumbo, including Rogue's," Logan answered from beside him, sniffing deeply. The air around him was filled with the scent of tears, sweat, blood and desperation. Logan could identify all the emotions the girls had been feeling while they were here. The disgust, the guilt, the pain.

"So you have no idea what direction we should be going in?" Mystique scoffed from behind them. "I can't believe that I trust my children to you people."

Remy glared at the pair, knowing that they could see him as well. "Could you please just try and keep quiet?" He hissed sharply.

"No, but that's why we're splitting up. Place is too big and we need to find Animusereptur fast before the fight outside gets worse. Mystique, take the stairs to you right and search the top floor, Remy go up and search the floor above this one. If you find him, beat the shit out of him," Logan said as Mystique and Remy nodded their response and turned to the staircase.

They climbed quietly, both moving agile grace. Remy had a nimbleness that was uncommon for a man of his strong build, but years of being a thief made him quick and light on his feet. They came to a landing with a door and Remy nodded to Mystique before slipping through the door and into a dark hallway. He crouched down in the dark, straining his ears and his eyes to notice something, to give some clue or notion that Rogue was somewhere here.

Remy felt frustration build deep within him, making him clench his hand into a tight fist. He wanted to scream Rogue's name at the top of his lungs, kinetically charge the whole damn place so it would blow. The three days when Rogue had been gone had been the worst in Remy's entire life. He'd heard her voice in the dead of night, sobbing to him, begging him to help her. He saw her in his tortured dreams, bloody and lifeless.

He had been raised in the Thieves Guild, taught that there was no room for any emotion other then greed and duty to your elders. In the Guild, you were on your own. You took care of yourself. And when Remy had been banished from the Guild and forced out of New Orleans, all he had left was himself. No family, no real friends, nothing to help him through, and Remy was alright with that. He didn't think he needed anyone else. But then she came along. With her cold attitude, her witty comebacks, her shapely body and her beautiful soul. And suddenly, Remy's life felt empty when she wasn't with him. He knew that if he could only have Rogue, that he'd have everything in the world.

Remy walked quietly down the hall, peeking into rooms. He stopped suddenly, his back stiffening as he charged his bo staff. He had felt, rather then heard, the person behind him and he braced himself as he slowly turned.

Remy gazed at the person in front of him, his bo staff falling to the floor. A naked figure stood before him, bathed in the moonlight that was pouring in through a broken window. She looked like an angel, something so perfect that it didn't even belong in this ugly world that surrounded them.

"Miss me Swamp Rat?" the question fell from Rogue's plump lips with a teasing tone.

Remy slowly took her in, from the tips of her toes to the way her hair fell into her eyes. She looked unharmed, healthy, and safe. Her exquisite porcelain skin was glowing gently and Remy took in her body without any hesitation. Rogue naked was an image only the very lucky would be privileged to see.

Remy opened his mouth to say something, to say anything, but a sob choked him and he grabbed Rogue, pulling her close to him. He wrapped his arms around her perfect body as he thanked the god that Remy wasn't quite sure existed for Rogue's safety.

"Remy," Rogue said softly, lacing her arms around his waist. "I can touch."

Those three words, those three small words, made Remy's heart burst.

"How?" he whispered, trailing his fingers down Rogue's back. Indeed, she could touch. Their skin brushed together, her forehead nestled into the crook of his neck, brushing against the stubble of three days without shaving.

"Does it matter how? It just matters that I can," Rogue murmured in a breathy tone. She raised her head and met Remy's eyes for the first time. "Kiss me."

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Kitty was screaming at the top of her lungs, crying and sobbing, but no one could hear her. Her body remained the same, still fighting. She needed it to stop, for it all to stop. Her friends, the people she felt were her family, were fighting one another. Her body was alien to her, not hers anymore. She felt the pain of every hit, the amount of force that she hit back with, but she couldn't stop. This wasn't at all like when she had been under Mesmero's control. Her mind was a total blank for the entire time. It was as though she had been asleep for a long while then suddenly woke up in the middle of a circus with her foot seriously hurting (1).

But now she was a part of the fight, watching it through her own eyes, feeling it just as she would feel any other fight. She was doing stuff with her phasing that Kitty knew she had the ability to do, but would have never dared to use for fear of killing someone. But yet she was doing it to her friends, phasing her hands into their bodies and bruising their internal organs as they yelled in utter pain.

Jean and Storm were high above her, fighting an aerial battle. Tabitha had succeeded in taking out Roberto and had now joined forces with Jubilee to bring down Sam and Bobby as Kurt tousled with Rahne. Blood dripped from her muzzle and Kitty's mind cringed with pain.

Ray and Scott circled Kitty slowly, watching her every move, both were weary of attacking her, reluctant of hurting her.

"Come on Kitty, we know you don't want to do this!" Scott said taking a tentative step towards her.

'Well no duh!' Kitty thought bitterly as she pulled one of Logan's moves on him. Her foot collided with the side of his neck and Scott fell to his knees, coughing painfully.

'Bad bad body! Listen to me god damn it!' Kitty thought desperately as Ray charged his hands, a pained expression on his face.

"Sorry Kitty," he mumbled before letting out a stream of electricity to her. Kitty phased herself, letting the current pass through her and into a tree. Sparks of fire erupted from it and Bobby tore his attention away from Jubilee long enough to put out the raging inferno.

Kitty lunged herself at Ray, catching his legs. She phased the two down, far into the ground. She let go of Ray, swimming through the dirt until she broke the surface.

'I just buried Ray alive!' Kitty thought frantically, trying to force her body to go back down and get him.

Scott rushed to where she stood and began blasting at the ground, trying to get to his friend before his air ran out. Kitty swiped his feet out from under him and he came down hard. The two wrestled on the ground for a few moments, Scott trying to subdue her.

"Kurt!" Scott cried, knowing that he was wasting time fighting Kitty. Ray was suffocating and he needed to get to him. "Take Kitty away!"

Kitty phased herself from Scott's grip and felt strong familiar arms wrap around her body. Her mind relaxed instantly, knowing who was holding her tightly. The familiar sensation of teleportation filled her and a moment later she was standing on the roof of the asylum, looking down at the fight.

"Katzchen," she heard Kurt sigh softly as he tentatively released her.

Kitty turned to face him. His fur was singed and his uniform torn. A gaping wound on his arm suggested that Rahne had tore his flesh with her canine jaws. His gold eyes were filled desperation, desperation to have her back.

Kitty wanted to warn him, tell him to get away from her. Already she could feel her body moving on it's own, her right hand resting on his chest. She saw his golden eyes spark happily, obviously thinking that she was coming back to herself. Kitty's mind sobbed as she phased her hand through his flesh, knowing exactly where his heart lay. His eyes widened as her hand found the muscle and closed around it.

Kitty felt her world crash down around her, knowing that she was about to take the life of the man she loved. His heart pulsed against her hand, trying to force blood to his viens.

"Katzchen," Kurt mumbled weakly, trying to ignore the painful seizing of his heart, knowing his was defenseless. If he tried to port away, he'd leave his heart in Kitty's hand and if he moved even an inch, then Kitty would rip out his heart. "It's alright, I promised you it would be alright, and it will be."

He stared into her dirty, expressionless face, happy to know that that would be the last thing he would see before he died. Already he felt consciousness slipping away from him, his body shutting down as his heart began falling into forced cardiac arrest. She blinked hard as Kurt's heart pounded fiercely, fighting against her restriction on him.

Kitty heard his words and felt a barrier break within her. Tears welled in her eyes and she loosened her hold on his heart. Her mind fought with her body, refusing to kill him. Her body was her own, she would not be a tool for anyone to use, and she just needed control for a little while.

"Kurt, I'm sorry I have to do this," she said, watching his golden eyes go from relieved to confused. She fought with Animusereptur in her mind, pushing him away from cotrolling her.

Kitty stepped away from Kurt, the man she wanted to be with forever and a night. He was what made her world beautiful and bright, made the dawn break into her darkest nights. She'd give anything to be able to stay with him, but she could feel her control slipping, her body becoming a puppet once more.

She stepped backwards towards the edge of the roof, hoping that the six story fall would be enough to end it all. She needed the fall to kill her before she killed Kurt.

"Liebes! Nien!" Kurt cried out as Kitty smiled softly at him before letting herself fall backwards.

She tried to say one last thing before it was too late, tried to tell Kurt the one thing she had been holding herself back from. But the words caught in her throat as she fell through the air. It would all be over now, she wouldn't have to fight anymore, or deal with the pain of what Animusereptur had done and she wouldn't be a threat to her friends either. The decision was simple, her life or Kurt's? As Kitty tumbled to the ground, she knew she had made the right choice and her only regret was that she didn't tell Kurt how much she loved him.

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And there you go! So what does everyone think? Review please! Confused about the Remy and Rogue scene? It will all be explained ;) Oh and by the way, I'm officially calling this my bipolar story, I was rereading it and realized how it went from all happy and lighthearted to dark and sad.

Author's Notes:

1. I don't know if anyone remembers the episode where Jean, Evan, Kurt and Kitty get possessed, but this is a reference to that. Remember when Kitty phases up out of the ground in front of Logan and then kicks him? I always thought that that would seriously hurt her foot!


	18. Breaking of Dawn, Breaking of the Heart

Hey everyone! Hope you're all enjoying the story because I really enjoy writing it! This chapter has a little bit of R&R&R (Remy, Revenge and Rogue!)

And of course I want to thank everyone who has personally reviewed. My thousand thanks to X-Man Vixen (awesome name by the way), allyg1990, demonlrd66, xxKittyxxKattxx, rogue-scholar07, me, blackrose5242, halloweenbaby, RogueNya, Acedia RG, sailormoon846212, and Hellfirefanatic! You all keep this story going :)

Enjoy and please review!

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Remy gazed at the goddess in his arms, trying to feel good about holding her. Rogue's body was perfect, molding into his as though it was what it was made to do. He ducked his head down to meet her lips, never breaking eye contact with her. He watched her eyes drift shut slowly and brushed his lips against her plump ones. Remy felt the light touch and his eyes narrowed in fury.

Remy grabbed her by the throat and backed her violently into the wall, not caring that his firm grip would leave deep bruises. He gathered her slim wrists into his free hand, squeezing them tightly as he forced her to look at him.

"I may have passed out after Rogue kissed me that first time, but I know exactly what her lips feel like, I know that when we kissed it felt like the world stood still. I've dreamt about it every night ever since!" He hissed into her face, anger welling deep within him. "If you think I'm going to fall for a shitty knock off of the real thing, then you don't understand what it feels like to love a person, to feel like everything will be alright when they're next to you."

From the moment he had taken Rogue into his arms, it felt wrong. The body may have been right, an exact replica, but the feeling was off, like his heart was still searching for Rogue. It had reminded Remy of how he felt when he would spend the night with women ever since he had met Rogue. Empty, unsated and yearning for the only woman who ever made Remy feel like he was home. One look into Rogue's eyes, and Remy was home.

Remy stared at the woman he had pinned up against the wall, looking into Rogue's face, wanting only to have Rogue looking back at him.

"So tell me Mystique, are you more screwed up then I thought or is this Animusereptur's trick?" He demanded.

Mystique didn't answer, instead fighting against his hold viciously.

Remy growled in frustration, not caring to waste time when he needed to find Rogue. He released her hands and backed up, dodging her well placed kicks. He drew back his fist and struck her hard across the head, sending Mystique sprawling onto the floor, unconscious. Remy usually tried to avoid fighting women, but he was frustrated with the trick and wanted to dispose of her quickly and be on his way. He watched in disgust as Rogue's figure melted back into Mystique's.

"That was for being a shitty mother, you miserable bitch," He said as he stepped over her body and picked his bo staff from off the ground before heading back down the hallway.

He didn't take the care to be quiet as he continued his search for Rogue, kicking open any locked doors, just to find the rooms empty.

Remy came to the end of the hallway and paused in front of the staircase, trying to decide which way to go. He needed to find her, to hold her to him, he needed that more then he needed to breathe. He growled in frustration and slammed his fist into the wall, breaking the plaster.

"ROGUE!" Remy roared at the top of his lungs, knowing that if Rogue heard him and knew he was searching for her, then she would give him a sign, a direction of where to go. He felt someone breaching into his mind and Remy allowed the contact, not caring that he could possibly be opening himself up to the enemy.

"I've found Rogue, a floor above you and in the farthest room down the hallway, hurry Remy!" the Professor's telepathic voice urged him.

Remy bounded up the steps and through the door to the third floor. That sick freak was with Rogue, doing God knows what to her. Remy felt a small surge of hope as he thought of Rogue's inability to touch, the only thing that was keeping her safe.

He sprinted down the hallway, charging a playing card. He threw it at the only closed door in the empty hallway. The force with which the door was blown off shook the entire building and Remy was sure Logan would be on his way too. He ran through the now gaping hole in the wall and fell into a fighting stance, ready to finally rip the man responsible for all this torment to shreds. However, as Remy's keen eyes surveyed the room, e was sorely unprepared for what greeted him.

Rogue lay naked and unmoving on a bed in the dirty room, her body illuminated by the moonlight. Her body was mutilated, long cuts and gashes spilled her blood, the red a violent contrast to the white of her skin. Animusereptur sat on the bed, stroking her hair from her face, blessedly he was still clothed. It was the nightmare that had haunted Remy ever since Rogue had been taken, and now it was a memory that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Remy screamed, a sound that was ripped from his breaking heart. Rogue, his Chere, was lifeless and bleeding, seemingly dead to the world. His body acted on instinct and fury, lunging at Animusereptur. The two fell onto the floor in a frantic heap, Remy savage and bloodthirsty.

"Come now," Animusereptur grunted out as Remy struck him. "You don't think I wouldn't keep such a gorgeous girl all to myself? We could take turns."

Remy was beyond words as his rage robbed him of his ability to do anything else but punch.

"I figured sending Mystique after you wouldn't work," Animusereptur wheezed as he struggled, trying to subdue Remy by using the Jackal's powers. Remy felt the pain as his skin sliced open but relished in the feeling, drawing on it as he continued his assault. "You obviously want the real thing, want her body just as much as I do."

Though Animusereptur was using his mutations, Remy had no use for his. Instead, he wanted to feel his bare hands do the damage. No matter how many times he hit the sick bastard, it still wasn't enough. Remy wanted to see more blood, hear more grunts of pain, feel his hands rob Animusereptur of his life.

Remy knew it was an unfair fight, that when he had found Animusereptur, the pervert was already in a weakened state. He had holed himself up in the asylum to avoid the fight, exerting his energy in telepathically controlling the other girls. Remy didn't care that it was unfair fight, didn't care that being part of the X-Men meant avoiding killing as much as possible. He didn't go for the illusion of self-righteousness, of having a moral code that was written in stone. He knew what he was capable of, that he was no better then the enemies fought. He had the opportunity to make this man pay for what he had done and Remy planned on taking that opportunity.

His hands closed around Animusereptur's throat, tightening his hold as his victim gasped for breath. Remy wanted to draw out the death, make him feel every nuance of pain that he had caused the girls. He wanted to cut away at Animusereptur, rip out his heart and make him look at it with his dying eyes. But Remy needed to know that was Rogue was alright.

Remy tore his eyes away from the face of the man he hated, and back at Rogue's prone figure, watching for the rise and fall of her perfect chest. When he saw the rhythmic breathing, his heart swelled with utter and sweet relief. He could have cried from the joy that gripped him. He took a moment to look at every cut and bruise of the last three days.

Remy had never seen Rogue, his warrior angel, look so broken and vulnerable. The joy was replaced again with avenging fury. That man responsible for putting Rogue in that state was at Remy's mercy and he planned on making him suffer to his last breath.

His hands tightened around Animusereptur's throat, restricting his air. Remy had never felt this all consuming anger before. It gripped him and filled him completely. Remy was helpless to fight for control, but he found that he didn't want to. He enjoyed this vile hate, this need to kill.

He watched Animusereptur gasp for breath and felt his fingers digging into the skin on his neck. He took a moment to fell what Animusereptur was feeling, to feel the fear and horror of his dying moments. His grey eyes slid shut as his face turned from a red to a sickly purple.

"Look at me!" Remy snarled, pouring every ounce of venom he felt into his words. "I want you to watch me kill you!"

Animusereptur's eyes shot open and Remy gasped in shock. Staring back at him weren't the cold and baleful one's of the girls kidnapper, instead they were familiar and pleading green eyes.

"Remy," Rogue's voice passed from Animusereptur's lips in a strangled whisper.

Remy's heart shattered as understanding struck him hard. He had been too late, far too late to save Rogue. He knew now that she had been taken from him and was being held as a physchological prisoner in a psycho's mind.

"Rogue," Remy's blood ran cold as he released his hold on Animusereptur's body. His body convulsed as it gasped for air.

"It hurts, it hurts so damn much," Rogue's voice cried out, sounding torn and frantic.

"Chere, hold on! You're stronger then him, we'll get you back," Remy promised, watching as Animusereptur stumbled to his feet.

"Can't kill me, can you?" Rogue's voice was now gone, and the familiar cold voice was back. "All that strength, all that power you possess, and you can do _nothing_ to me."

Remy had lost the raging homicidal need to kill, instead he now felt empty and hollow. He just needed Rogue back, that's all.

"Give her back, let her go," He whispered, gazing at her torn body.

"I know her better then you do now, I know the hate she feels," Animusereptur cooed coolly. "Her distrust in everybody, including you. The angel you think is Rogue, is an illusion. If you knew the real girl, you'd be just as disgusted with her as I am."

Remy listened quietly, hearing the words that claimed that Rogue was as dark as he was. He smiled gently. Yes, he knew all that about Rogue. He knew her dark side, her anger. Did that make her less of an angel? Or more of a human? It just made her Rogue, who she was.

"You see Remy, the more corrupt the soul is, the more easy it is to destroy it, to make it truly evil. It took only hours, _hours, _to destroy the souls of all the other girls I've taken. How long do you suppose Rogue can last?" Animusereptur continued, obviously trying to provoke Remy.

"You may have her soul, but I know her heart," Remy began quietly, his words firm and steady. He caught movement behind Animusereptur and smirked bitterly. "You will fail."

Animusereptur opened his mouth to say something else but the words came out as a gurgled moan as Logan swung his balled fist at the side of his head.

"Damn bastard talks too much," Logan sighed as he stepped into the waning moonlight, Mystique slung over his shoulder.

"Did she try and seduce you too?" Remy asked as he spotted his tench coat balled up in a corner, covered in blood that he was sure was Rogue's. He took it from the floor and shook it for a moment before turning back to the bed that Rogue was laid upon.

"Seduce? More like try and rip to shreds," Logan replied as he threw Animusereptur over his other shoulder.

Remy's gut clenched as he laid his trench coat across Rogue, tucking it around her like a blanket. He eased her body gently into his arms and turned to Logan with pain in his eyes.

"He has her," Remy cringed as he admitted the impossible.

Logan stared at the ashen and devoid face of the young girl he loved like a daughter. He searched for the right words, the things to say that would comfort both him and Remy, but failed to find any. Instead, he turned away from the soul shattering sight of a man in love holding his broken lover and said the only thing he could force out of his throat.

"Let's go home."

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Kurt watched in horror as Kitty dropped from the roof, intent on killing herself before she could rip out his heart.

"Katzchen!" He screamed, porting blindly to save her from a bone crushing death. A moment later and he was falling as well, his hand closing around the arm of his precious Kitty. He ported again, bringing them both to the ground safely.

He watched with furious eyes as Kitty gasped for breath underneath him. He wanted to hold her, kiss her and scream at her for doing something so unbelievably stupid. As Kitty regained her composure, he swept her wrists into his hands, pinning them at either side of her head. He knew that she was too disoriented to phase at the moment and he intended to use this time to try and bring her back to herself, and also yell at her.

"How could you do that?!" He demanded fiercely, the image of her trying to commit suicide flashing through his mind. "Do you have any idea what that would have done to me?"

His world would have ended. He'd become broken beyond repair forever.

"And do you," Kitty gasped out, returning her own glare. "Have any idea what it would have done to me if I had ripped out your heart?"

"Trying to kill yourself did rip out my heart Katzchen!" Kurt hissed, bringing his face closer to hers as he hovered above her. Something important had just happened, Kurt was sure he was missing a big detail. But he was too impassioned about Kitty's attempted death to pay much mind to it.

"My hand," Kitty rasped, flexing her right hand, the hand that threatened his heart, which was pinned by Kurt's left one. "Is covered in your blood. I'd rather die a thousand deaths then feel your life slipping through my fingers!"

Kurt stared at the girl below him. Her face was dirty; blood, tears and dirt staining the beautiful skin. Her chest rose in furious pants. And her eyes. They were a celestial blue, pained and emotion filled. She looked like Kitty again, albeit a dirty and a slightly deranged Kitty, but still Kitty. His Katzchen had come back to him, no longer under possession.

"Liebes!" Kurt cried as he peppered her face with urgent kisses, her skin tasting coppery from the blood and salty from the tears. He sat up suddenly, pulling her up with him as he wrapped his arms around her tightly, crying into her shoulder. "Danken Sie Gott, mein Engel ist zurückgegangen zu mir! (1)"

He felt her arms cling loosely to him, her strength drained. She was sobbing herself, though what she was saying was getting cuaght in her throat, choked by tears.

"Katzchen, shh. It's alright now, you're okay, and that's all that matters," Kurt cooed into her hair. He opened his eyes and turned his eyes heavenward, praying silently. The night sky was fading and the first light of the sun was slowly breaching the eastern sky. Around him the fight was over, Jean and Scott in a similar position as Kitty and Kurt were. Storm was helping an injured Tabitha and Ray held an unconscious wolf in his arms. Sam was trying to pry Bobby off of Jubilee, yelling that she needed to breathe sometime soon.

"No Kurt! It's not alright, it's not!" Kitty finally coughed out.

Kurt pulled away from her slightly, resting his forehead against hers and looking in her eyes. "Liebes, what did he do to you?"

Kitty eyes became suddenly panicked and pained as memories rushed through her. She pushed them back and shook her head. "That doesn't matter right now. Kurt, I'm so sorry! It's Rogue! He-"

Kitty broke down once more, her fingers clutching at his fur. Kurt felt a sudden ache tear at his newly jovial heart. "Is she alive Liebchen? Tell me she's alive!"

Kitty nodded. "Alive... but not living."

"Was? Liebes, bitte, you're not making sense," Kurt said gently, his tail holding her waist while the tip massaged her lower back. He saw Kitty's eyes flicker from his and widen in horror as she stared at something beyond Kurt's shoulder. He turned his head and saw Logan emerging from the asylum, two people thrown over his shoulder. One he knew he was Mystique by the blue skin and shock of red hair. The other was a man, the man that was responsible for all that had happened. Kitty let out a harsh whimper and Kurt tightened his hold on her. Magneto came after Logan, his daughter unconscious in his arms. Remy followed him through where the doors had once been, his casual strut was now a slow procession. A bundle was held gently in his arms and Kurt began a battle of denial. His sister, one of the strongest and fiercest girls he knew, couldn't be gone.

He stood and helped Kitty to her feet before gently lifting her into his arms, her arms slung around his neck and she rested her head against his shoulder.

"Her soul," Kitty whispered. "That monster has it."

He looked down into Kitty's tear filled eyes and pressed a kiss onto her forehead.

"We'll get her back Liebling, we'll get her back," He promised as he followed Logan to the jet that they had borrowed from Magneto.

The rest of the team filed on after them. The atmosphere was quiet and heavy. A mix of joy, relief, and pain filled them all. Kurt selected a seat near the back of the jet and sat, keeping Kitty on his lap. He watched as Remy did the same thing a row ahead of him.

"Are you in pain Katzchen?" He whispered. He felt her stir and watched as she shifted her eyes away from the image of Remy and Rogue. He had her back, and Kurt clung to that knowledge. Having Kitty with him now was the only thing that could break the pain of knowing that his sister was still lost to them.

"I just want to go home Fuzzy," she sighed as she looked past Remy and Rogue and out the windshield of the jet. "I never thought a sunrise could look so terrible."

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Remy heard the world continue around him, the others finding their seats quietly. He knew that they were relieved that the others girls were alright and concerned about Rogue, but he also knew whatever pain that what they felt was like a match to a forest fire compared to how he felt.

Remy tore his gaze away from Rogue's empty and haunting face and out the windshield. He watched without seeing the breaking of dawn as he felt the breaking of his heart.

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And there it is! So what did you all think? What did everyone think of the scene between Animusereptur (really wish I would have chosen a shorter name) and Remy? I wanted to capture the rage he felt and how he was different from the other X-Men, I hoped I was able to convey that at least a little, it really is such a big part of his character.

Author's Notes:

1. Thank god, my angel has come back to me.

Hope you liked it and let me know what you thought :)


	19. We Are Broken

I am a bad bad author! Cannot believe I haven't updated, so sorry :( It's not that I've lost interest in the story, I've just been uber busy as of lately and started a new story on top of that, Betrothal and Betrayal, and got a little sidetracked. But I can tell you that this story is not over yet. Please review and tell me your thoughts, suggestions or critiques :)

Thank you so much to all of those who have reviewed and kept me going: the-writing-vampire, Red red red ribbon, xxkittyxxkattxx, mistakendragon815, me, halloweenbaby, X-Man Vixen, RogueNya, Rogue-scholar07, demonlrd66, allyg1990, Acedia RG. You're all amazing!

So where were we? Oh yes, the X-Men are on their way home. Rogue is a soulless shell and Remy is a heartbroken man. Sounds about right...

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_**I am outside  
And I've been waiting for the sun  
With my wide eyes  
I've seen worlds that don't belong  
My mouth is dry with words I cannot verbalize  
Tell me why we live like this**_

_**Keep me safe inside  
Your arms like towers  
Tower over me**_

_**Cause we are broken  
What must we do to restore  
Our innocence  
And all the promise we adored  
Give us life again cause we just wanna be whole**_

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The girls were home. So why did they still feel alone and broken? And scared, terribly scared. They flinched when Mr. McCoy had tended to their wounded bodies, any unexpected touch would send a surge of panic through them and stir up dreaded memories.

Jubilee stood in the crowded medical room, trying to piece it all back together again. Everyone around her was in a bustle, collecting supplies, clearing beds. Her mind was fragmented slightly, flashbacks from abuse and a terrible fight kept gripping her and she struggled to make sense of it all. She recalled getting here by jet, the familiar sensation of flying still made her legs feel wobbly, but how she had gotten to the jet escaped her.

She had been captured, she knew that. She had been hurt, that she could tell just by looking down at her body. But then there were memories of fighting her friends...what did that mean? Were they no longer her friends anymore? Surely she wouldn't have attacked them without good reason. And if they were still a threat to her, then why was she standing there, watching their wounds being tended to?

A new feeling stirred deep within her and Jubilee took a moment to identify what it was. Worry, there were hints of worry. And caring. So she cared about the boys she had attacked? Now that doesn't make any sense. Jubilee caught sight of the back of a brown haired boy and gasped. Burns bubbled the skin and Jubilee realized the emotion she was feeling. Concern. A barrier began to crumble in her mind and a hazy light of recognition began to breach through the confusion.

As the memories and pieces began to fall back into place, Jubilee began a mental checklist as fast as her mind could handle, trying to reassure herself that everyone was okay.

She looked again at Bobby's back, seeing the burns. Which made her think of Amara. Jubilee craned her sore neck around, trying to locate her friend. A head of brown hair was peeking out of a nestle of blankets, her brown eyes blank as they stared up at the ceiling. Brown eyes made Jubilee think of Roberto and she spotted him with a bandage around his head, Ray next to him, begrudgingly breathing in oxygen through a mask.

Jubilee's checklist drew to a blank, but she knew it wasn't done yet. There were more people for her to check on, she just couldn't identify who right now.

A flurry of red hair made caught Jubilee's eye and she watched a stunning red head pass a boy with a mullet a small cup of pills. Jean and Sam, check and check. Scott was standing by, still there but out of the way, for once he was unsure of how to help. Red hair, red hair... someone else important to Jubilee had red hair.

Rahne. Jubilee scanned for her friend and found her curled up in a bed in her wolf form, Jamie talking quietly to her as tears stung his eyes. Her wolf tail was bandaged and wrapped. Tails. Someone else had a tail. Jubilee caught sight of Mr. McCoy's blue fur and let the puzzle pieces come together. Kurt, of course.

She found him in a chair in between two beds, looking awful. On the one bed was Kitty, who was sitting up even as Mr. McCoy insisted that she lay back down. Her bleary blue eyes were locked onto the bed beside her, her chest heaving in hard sobs. As Jubilee watched, she saw Kurt's hand reach out and take Kitty's, his tail wrapping around her slim wrist and up her arm. Jubilee waited for Kitty's panic at the touch, for her to flinch and phase away, but was surprised when Kitty allowed the small embrace. What were they crying over?

Jubilee allowed her eyes to follow their gaze and felt her agonizingly difficult mental checklist burst into flames. Rogue was laying on the bed, looking more dead then alive. Her usual celestial skin was gray and ashen. The spark of life that was distinctly Rogue was gone. No, Jubilee corrected herself, not gone. It was stolen. A new emotion ripped from her chest and joined her desperation and agony at the loss of Rogue. She was angry now. And disgusted. Someone was holding Rogue's hand, the untouchable skin now free of threat. He looked how jubilee felt, only a million times worse. Remy looked as though all that he lived for had been stolen from him, his own heart ripped from his chest.

Jubilee turned from the heart wrenching sight and began filling in the blanks that plagued her mind. she had fought the boys, but she remembered not wanting to. She had been forced. Jubilee ignored the questions of how and why for now and focused once more on gaining the facts. Before she had fought the boys, she had been scared. She remembered that emotion well. Even as she stood here now, she still felt it. And she also felt disgusting. Not only because of the fact that she was covered in her blood, and probably the blood of a few other people, but because of something more. Jubilee closed her eyes as she tried to find the reason.

In the darkness of her mind, a pair of cold grey eyes suddenly cropped up and Jubilee's own eyes flew open in panic. She remembered now, and sincerely wished that she didn't. Her stomach rolled as the memories of it clouded her and Jubilee desperately tried to push it all away.

Someone was behind her, speaking urgently to her. They were saying something that sounded so familiar to her. Oh, of course, it was her name.

Jubilee turned around to see Miss Munroe holding a bottle of water and a cup of pills. Jubilee watched her mouth moving, forming words that were lost on Jubilee's ears.

She watched blankly as Miss Munroe's face began to twist with concern and suddenly was pulled form her inner musings.

"What?" she asked dumbly as she blinked owlishly.

"Child, take these pills. You haven't had any food for three days and are also very dehydrated," Miss Munroe said as she pushed the pills and bottle of water into Jubilee's numb hands.

"Oh, right," Jubilee said as she forced them down her throat and sipped the water, feeling her stomach rebel against the sudden influx of meager substance.

Miss Munroe raised a hand to rest on Jubilee's shoulder but stopped as Jubilee flinched away involuntarily.

"Jubilation," she said in a slightly pained voice.

"I'm sorry Miss Munroe, I know that you're trying to help," Jubilee whispered.

"It's alright. Just please believe me when I say that I understand. I understand that you still feel threatened and don't feel that you'll ever be safe or have control again. But you're stronger then this. Some pieces may be missing or broken, but you'll replace them with something stronger." Jubilee tried to let the words warm and reassure her, but felt that at the moment, they were wasted on her aching heart. And what about Rogue? What if they never got her back? She was a piece of Jubilee, of everyone in the mansion, that was irreplaceable.

She found herself nodding slowly as Miss Munroe shot her one more pained look before she moved along, collecting another set of pills and water to give to the next girl.

Jubilee turned to watch her friends once more, pulling her arms close to her violated body. She needed a bath, needed to soak in hot steamy water to burn off the memories of abuse. The girls had all come so close to losing their souls as well as their innocence. They were tainted now, dirty and used.

She stumbled to a chair and sat down, her knees shaking violently. His hands were on her again, his breath hot against her ear, telling her that her virginity would be his, that nobody would want her after he was done with her.

Jubilee, like many girls, felt that virginity was a big deal. She had always planned on how special her first time would be, not only because that would be her first time being with a person, but because she was offering her most special gift to someone who deserved it and cherished her.

What if it happened again? What if she was really raped next time? In Jubilee's line of work, it wasn't completely unlikely. She had encountered crazed and sadistic mutants before and would definitely run into more. And what about all the mutant haters? They were just as capable of making her worst nightmare come true.

Her mind was in a fog again, trying desperately to find a way to keep her safe. Bobby stepped into her line of vision, and Jubilee stared blankly at his uniform clad knees. The upper half of his uniform was hanging down around him, leaving the burns on his back exposed and cream covered. He knelt down in front of her, shifting his face until her eyes were locked with his.

"Hey," he said gently.

"I'm still scared," Jubilee admitted in a timid and half shameful whisper.

Bobby nodded as he placed a gentle hand on her knee. Jubilee felt the contact and waited for the panic that she was sure she would feel after every touch for the rest of her life.

Instead, she was filled with comfort and warmth. She looked into Bobby's brown eyes in wonder, his own glassed over with concern and care.

"Jubilee, I know you're hurt right now. But I promise you that I'm here," Bobby said.

She nodded, looking into the face of her best friend. He was strong, kind and always made her feel better, no matter what the situation. He could make her feel better now, couldn't he? He could prove to her that being with someone physically could be beautiful and feel right, not dirty and disgusting. She could give him her virginity, and know that she had done so out of choice and no longer would she worry about it being taken from her. She could have control, finally, after being stripped of her dignity and self respect, she could have control.

He could make her feel whole again, by allowing him to take her innocence, she could once again feel innocent.

He smiled at her and Jubilee returned it, feeling that she had found her comfort even as the world fell down around her.

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Ray watched everyone as he breathed heavily from the oxygen mask. Being buried alive by Kitty was not something he wanted to repeat. Fighting the girls had been truly awful, and now they all had gaping wounds in their chest. The man responsible for their torment and torture was currently being telepathically torn apart by the professor, who was desperately trying to find Rogue and get her back to them. Logan was down in the cell with them, and Ray was sure that on top of being mentally beaten to a pulp, his physical body would suffer as well.

Ray chanced a glance over at Rogue, watching the three people who loved her the most crowd around the bed, Kurt praying as Remy kissed her hands. Kitty was bandaged, long cuts screaming across her pale body.

Magneto, Mystique, Wanda and Tabitha hadn't stayed long, though the professor insisted on having both the girls telepathically evaluated, though Magneto had refused. He claimed that he knew a telepath in Boston. Her name was Emma... Emma Ice was it? Oh well, it didn't matter to Ray. The only things and people that mattered to him were gathered here in this room, all broken and hurt.

Ray watched Bobby kneel in front of a sitting Jubilee, talking to her gently. Jubilee smiled then, and Ray felt a surge of joy and hope run through him. It was a mere shadow of a smile, but he knew Jubilee had meant it to be so much more, that she had wanted it to be more.

All Ray wanted to do was gather all the girls in a giant group hug, never let them out of his sight again, and pretend that this never happened. That the past three days were part of some horror movie and with a simple push of a button, it would all be gone. But instead, Ray had to sit back helplessly, not even able to lend the girls a hug or friendly kiss on the forehead, as they would start to quake in fear.

He had watched the blood splattered girls shatter right before his eyes and all he could do was stand there with a comforting hand and a tube of crazy glue, prepared to do whatever it takes to help put them back together again. Would it all be enough? Would their support and love get them through this? And what if Rogue was permenatley lost to them? Ray seriosuly doubted that the team could rebound from a loss so devastating.

Ray felt his eyelids growing heavy and his body pleaded for rest. Ray moved off the bed, placing the barely used oxygen mask on the tank next to him. He began to walk out of the medical room, wanting to stay, but knowing that he was doing no good and probably just getting in the way. Right now, sleeping was all he could do. A thousand worries drifted in and out and around him, his mind too tired to grab one and really fret over it. He let them wash over him and steal his remaining energy. He didn't even have it in him to crave a cigarette.

Ray collasped onto his bed, clumisly pulling off his X-uniform until he lay in nothing but his boxers. He chucked the torn and dirt covered uniform across the room, hoping that it landed somewhere in the vicinity of his laundry basket. Ray pulled his pillow close, letting his head lay on his sheet clad mattress in exchange for having something to hold on to in his time of need. As he drifted into a deep and disturbed sleep, Ray thought on the girl that was still trapped, the one they hadn't been able to save. He wondered what Animusereptur was putting her mind through, and whether or not they could rescue her. And if they did, would she still be the Rogue they knew?

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Thank you for reading and please let me know what you thought. I know that it was a little short and there was a major lack in our main characters (Rogue, Remy, Kurt and Kitty) but they are coming up very very soon. But I wanted to write about the other characters too and how they're dealing with everything. Sexual abuse is very difficult to overcome and I want to show and express that through how each of the girls are handling what happened. Obviosuly, Jubilee is handling it by searching for control and to her, control is giving her virginity by choice. Some girls tend to do this after abuse. In the next few chapters, not only will I be writing about the Rogue story arc, but about how the girls are individually dealing with everything, as well as some of the guys (cough cough Remy cough). I hope that's a good idea!

The lyrics in the beginning is from a wonderful song called We Are Broken (hence the chapter title) by Paramore. I thought the song was fitting for this chapter. I'm thinking about doing this at the beginning of every chapter, putting a song to it that I think would fit. Please let me know if you think that's a good idea! I already have the perfect song for Remy and cannot wait to post his chapter, but I will be patient :)

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!


	20. How to Fix Everything

Hey everyone :) Thanks for checking out my story and I hope you enjoy, please review and let me know your thoughts.

As always, I want to thank those who have personally reviewed, but I want to give them all my gratitude for reviewing and helping me along with writing about sexual abuse. It's a very hard subject to write about and while I'm sure that my humble writing cannot even begin to convey the hurt and pain that follows abuse, I want to thank all of those who have told me otherwise and have been supportive through their reviews and kind words. Thank you rogue-scholar07, xxkittyxxkattxx, X-Man Vixen, blackrose5242, demonlrd66, halloweenbaby, Acedia RG, Red red red ribbon, Mistakdragon815, Me, RogueNya, and allyg1990.

I hope you enjoy (though it's a hard subject to enjoy reading about) and please let me know if you have any suggestions, critiques and general thoughts :)

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_**The sharper the edge, the cleaner the wound.  
So, I'll be keeping it dull tonight for I deserve to hurt.  
Disfigure the outside to show how ruined I am.  
There's no pain and no pleasure when you're too numb to feel.**_

_****_

There's a pedestal across the room,  
and if I try to climb again,  
this time the fall is fatal.  
I don't deserve such an easy exit,  
so maybe my spine can snap on impact,  
and I'll have to crawl away.

I'm ready to take that big step,  
start tearing off the layers I put up;  
or is it too late to be anything but what I am?  
Identify the problem,  
Now let's see if we can fix anything.

_**Just close the door and let me do what I need,  
'cause it's better for us if you just let me leave. **_

_****_

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Kurt prayed in low Latin as he sat by his sister's bed. While he had parents in Germany who loved him very much, Rogue was his family here. Of course he viewed all the X-Men and all of his friends as his family, but he and Rogue shared a connection that bound them together. That connection of course being Mystique. Having Rogue as a sister was the only benefit of having Mystique as a mother.

Kurt felt Kitty's presence behind him, quivering and shaking with her body's reluctant sobs. She was overwhelmed by everything. Kitty was naturally an emotional girl, never finding the need to keep her feelings and emotions buried within her. Her hot temper was evidence of that. His tail snaked it's way up to her waist, his mind just barely registering the fact that she had just been molested and abused and any close contact was probably not a good idea. However, his need to comfort and care for her made him blind to this reasoning.

Kurt wanted to break down at the sight of his lost sister, wanted to cry and howl in fury. But he could do none of that. Kitty needed him, needed his strength and support and maybe even his love. And Kurt would be damned if he denied her that. So he buried his pain and rage as he leaned forward and pressed a tender kiss to Rogue's cheek, hardly feeling the pull of his wound from Rahne on his arm.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Remy flex defensively, much like Kurt had when Mr. McCoy had tended to Kitty's wounds. He supposed it was some kind of feral and animalistic instinct that all the boys were feeling now that the girls were back with them. But they weren't back. They were mere shadows of the girls they once had been, just three days ago.

He turned away from Rogue and to Kitty, watching his beloved Katzchen coming undone before his eyes. Where had all that beautiful strength gone? All the faith and tenacity? Where was the girl who believed that the beauty and goodness in this world was worth fighting for, worth living for? Kurt took a moment to look into her eyes and knew that she was still there, buried beneath the pain and hurt. She may not be the same person she was before her world was ripped out from under her, but she was still his Katzchen, his love.

He spread his arms in a silent question, unsure if embracing her was the correct thing too. On the jet ride home that had been all he'd done, held her and cried in relief for her return. But she had been shocked then, hadn't time to feel anything but his embrace. But now that the reality of the healing road ahead became clear, she may feel disgust and mistrust at any simple touch. Already his traitorous tail was crossing boundaries, fulfilling what his subconscious mind wanted to do but wouldn't dare.

So here he stood, offering his comfort and support to her, unsure of what else he could do. She gave a sudden sob and flung herself into his embrace, apparently needing his comfort as much as he needed to give it to her.

"Liebes," Kurt whispered as he loosely wrapped his arms around her, not daring to test the boundaries of this potentially dangerous embrace. Kurt was sure that if he showed any domination or possessiveness, then she would turn him away. "Bitte mein Katzchen, tell me what you need."

Kitty hiccoughed slightly and her words were muffled against his uniform clad shoulder, though he could make out the words Rogue, home and forget in a litany that she repeated over and over. She pulled away slightly and Kurt reluctantly dropped his arms from her, prepared to step away if that was what she needed. She shook her head violently then and clung to his furry arms, bringing them to circle her once more.

"I need a lot of things right now," Kitty admitted. She glanced around them, mildly shocked that she was the only girl that seemed to be acting like this. She was unsure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. Her gaze settled on Rogue and her face twisted in pain. What she wouldn't give to have Rogue standing beside her, her unshakeable strength a beacon of hope to Kitty. Instead, she lay with an IV in her arm and a beeping heart monitor as the only evidence that she was still alive.

"I need Rogue," she whimpered out as Remy raised his eyes to meet hers.

"Quo Chaton," he choked as the words left him. "We all need Rogue."

"Liebchen," Kurt said in a gentle yet firm voice. He couldn't have her dwell on Rogue's state and completely ignore her own, that was potentially the most dangerous thing. "What else do you need?"

Kitty leaned into his embrace more, her desire for protection and comfort overcoming her disgust at her dirty and tainted state. "I need you. To hold me."

Kurt's face lit up with a ghost of a smile before he clung to her the way he wanted to, not holding anything back. "I can do that."

Kitty nodded before cringing with the realization of who they were standing before. It was cruelly insensitive and callous of them to be displaying this affection in front of the man whose love was being held a mental prisoner. Her eyes flickered towards Remy's again, which were filled with a thousand emotions. She saw the pain, the desperation, the small and bitter joy, and the envy as he watched the scene before him. He brokenly smiled his forgiveness to Kitty before returning his attention back to Rogue, brushing strands of hair from her face.

"And I need a bath," Kurt heard Kitty say quietly. She must have felt a surge of revulsion and disgust go through her because she stepped suddenly out of his embrace and pulled her arms around her body.

"Ja Liebchen, we will clean you up," Kurt said as he gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Your room though. I can't bear to go into our room and see her empty bed," Kitty said as Kurt nodded in understanding, knowing that she was referring to Rogue.

They both looked around them one more time, taking in the scene of their fractured and wounded friends before they left it all behind, only to discover that the pain had followed them into Kurt and Remy's bedroom.

Kurt stepped away from Kitty and gazed at her for a long moment. He breathed deeply and sincerely wished he hadn't. The scent of her was buried underneath the smell of blood (he could identify Jubilee's, Rogue's, Kitty's and his own) tears and sweat. But beneath the evidence of the battle was the smell of her captor, the smell of his sweat and arousal as he corrupted Kitty. A growl passed from Kurt's lips before he could stop it and he cringed, hoping that he hadn't frightened Kitty.

"I know," Kitty said softly. "That's why I need to bathe. I can still feel him on me, clinging to me wherever i go. I need to wash it all away."

Kurt nodded as he stepped into the bathroom, his bare feet coming in contact with the cool marble floor. Kitty was behind him, stripping down to her plain undergarments silently. Not a word was spoken as Kurt set the faucets to a temperature he felt suitable. This task needed to be done and nothing Kurt could say would do anything to comfort Kitty right now, not while she was still dirty. She wanted to be angry and hurt as she scrubbed at her skin, that was the only way she could purge away her molester's touch. Hate would be her soap for this shower and love would be her towel.

He knelt to scoop up Kitty's pajama's but she pushed them out of the way with her foot, limping slightly as he rose suddenly to steady her. Her body was still torn and cut and she couldn't risk reopening the healing wounds.

"Don't touch them," she said firmly, casting one more disgusted look at the torn and grimy pajama set. He nodded as he stepped away from her, granting her entrance into the shower.

Kitty stepped into the billowing heat, not caring to remove her bra and underwear. She needed to bathe but she still needed Kurt with her, so she had decided that washing with her undergarments still on was an acceptable compromise. She had to smile as she leaned against the tiled wall of the shower, wondering why she and Rogue had insisted on having their bathroom be "Victorian" with a claw foot tub and other antique features instead of going for the sleek and modern appearance Kurt had chosen.

"Liebchen, do you want me to go get your soaps for you?" Kurt asked as he watched her through the billows of steam that rose from the water. Even now, as she stood there in pain and hurt, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

She shook her head and turned to look at him, letting the water wash over her.

"No, if you don't mind I'll just use one of yours. I don't think I want to use my soap, it'll feel too.." Kitty searched for how to explain her reasoning.

"Too much like you?" Kurt ventured a guess as Kitty nodded.

"Yea, like how everything was before this. I don't want to be me for a while, not yet at least," Kitty replied as she sniffed at a soap, deciding by it's spicy scent that it must be Remy's. She replaced it and picked up a green bottle, sniffing deeply. A light minty scent filled her and she closed her eyes, enjoying the smell she always identified with Kurt.

Kurt leaned against the counter as Kitty lost herself in bathing. He watched her hands lather her body as her scrubs became more fierce. He needed her back, to stand up through this pain and fight back. He knew that time was needed, but while he was a patient man, it tore him up to see Kitty like this.

As she attempted to wash away the last three days, a new scent tinged the air, mingling with the minty soap and Kurt narrowed his eyes, watching the water as it snaked towards the drain. Indeed, there were tinges of red in it.

With a slight growl he stepped into the shower, not caring about the fact that he was still in his uniform and shouldn't be getting his bandaged arm wet. He pulled Kitty's wet and sopping body to his, stopping her hands as they clawed at her healing wounds.

"Katzchen," Kurt said softly, taking the blood streaked washcloth from her hands. "Bitte, let me."

Kitty nodded as she dropped her hands, her energy spent. Kurt took great care while washing her, waiting for her to push him away. Instead she melted into his arm, crying hard and deep.

Kurt didn't shush her as she sobbed, she needed this. Needed these tears. She had cried in the medical room, but those had been tears over Rogue, tears for a friend. But these sobs and sniffles now were produced only from her own pain. She crumbled to the tile and Kurt followed after her, embracing her even as he washed her hair. He took the care to cover her eyes as he dipped her head under the stream and then allowed her to curl into his lap like a child, telling her to let it go.

After she had cried for what seemed to be an eternity, Kitty moved to get up off of him. She wanted sleep now, even though it was around breakfast time. She just wanted to close her eyes forever, but she still hadn't washed the parts of her that needed it the most, the parts that had been touched roughly and abused. Kurt seemed to sense this and he got up from the floor as well, pulling her into him with a tenderness that Kitty hadn't felt in days.

Kurt wasn't sure what possessed him to tell her what he had known since he'd first met her. Perhaps it was his desperation to say anything to comfort her or it could have been almost losing her that made him confess. Maybe it was just time, finally time to be completely honest. Objectively though, this was the worst possible time. He'd always imagine this confession under different and more beautiful circumstances, not under horrible ones like what they were currently facing. But as the water washed around them, it felt right. Kitty had faced something truly awful, had seen the bitter side of humanity and the hate that was very present in their world. And Kurt needed to show her the beauty now, to share with her the most beautiful thing he felt.

"I love you Katzchen," he told her firmly as she looked up in surprise. "Deep down, in the heart that you nearly ripped out, I know that you're everything I need, everything I want and everything that is beautiful."

Kitty opened her mouth to respond but Kurt shook his head firmly.

"Nein, please don't answer right now. I want you to be _you _when you tell me yes or no, when you tell me whether or not you accept me," Kurt said, feeling slight guilt for springing this on her suddenly. But still, as Kitty nodded and smiled silently, her eyes shining brightly, he couldn't help but feel a surge of hope.

True, they had many obstacle to face, many things to break down and many things to build back up. They had to find Rogue, destroy the pain and reconstruct what was broken. But still, Kurt hoped that Kitty, who was now armed with his confession of his love, could stand strong.

He kissed her forehead firmly. "I'm going to go get you clean nightclothes."

She nodded and he bamfed away, reappearing a moment later in a room he knew very well. He cast a desperate look to Rogue's side of the room before picking a set of pajama's and underwear for Kitty. He walked over to her dresser and swept up the Star of David necklace before taking his leave, the empty room chipping away at his spirit.

He found her standing in his bedroom, a towel around her waist and his shirt covering her.

She smiled stiffly as she accepted the clothes and Kurt turned away from her, giving her privacy as she slipped on her underwear. She ignored the other clothes and curled up into his bed, rolling so that her back was to him.

"Stay with me tonight?" she asked quietly, watching the sunlight slice through the crack in the curtain, not caring that she had mistaken the time of day. It still felt like night to her, dark and lonely.

"I can't think of anything I'd rather do," Kurt answered as he changed out of his uniform and into a t shirt and boxers. He timidly slipped into bed beside her, restraining from holding her.

"Kitty, don't let this destroy you. We're all here for you, I am here for you," he whispered. She rolled over to face him and Kurt looked into her suddenly devoid eyes. Somewhere between those words leaving his mouth and those words reaching her ears, something had gone wrong. He could feel her retreating away from him, shrinking from his offerings of comfort and support.

Kurt wanted to question it and Kitty seemed to sense that. She shook her head and took his hand, kissing his palm before placing it to her chest, her own small one covering it.

"Ich liebe dich (1), mein ange," Kurt whispered as he kissed her eyelids gently. What he wouldn't give to kiss her on the lips, show her the passion he felt for her. But now was not the time. Now was the time for comfort and warmth, and Kurt just hoped that Kitty would allow his assistance to her.

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Amara's stomach rebelled against her as she laid wrapped in a bundle of blankets, trying to warm away the coldness that still bit at her. People were around her in the medical room, but she ignored them, staring at the ceiling.

Anger welled deep within her. Anger at the fact that they hadn't been able to save Rogue, anger that she had been treated like a sex object, and mostly anger at herself. She had been too weak to fight back, not clever enough to save her friends and herself. She had deserved all the abuse she had endured these last few days. But what truly angered her, what really made her hot with fury and disgust, was that her body had enjoyed the rough caresses.

Hot shame flushed through her as she remembered her body's response, even as her mind screamed her disgust at it all.

Amara felt tears of self hate pour down her cheeks. She hadn't wanted the molestation or the touches, so why had her body replied to them? Why did pleasure trickle up her spine even as tears had streamed down her face?

And Animusereptur had known she was responding to him; however reluctantly, she was still responding. He'd even brought her to her first orgasm, laughing as she pleaded for him to stop even as her body begged him not to. She had cried and gasped as the release washed over her, stealing her self respect.

How could she have enjoyed it? Amara felt suddenly sick to her stomach and she rolled over on the bed, grabbing blindly for a waste pail. She found one shoved before her eyes suddenly and gratefully emptied her stomach into it, just barely feeling someone holding back her hair for her. The pills and water Miss Munroe had just given her came up with a rush and Amara slumped back onto the bed, pushing away the hands that were stroking her hair. Her friends shouldn't bother to touch a dirty whore like her, they'd only sully their own pure hands.

Humiliation tore through Amara as she cried over her body's betrayal and treachery. Someone was talking quietly to her in a soft and reassuring tone trying to comfort her, but Amara pushed them away.

Why couldn't her friends see that she deserved this self disgust, that she wanted it? After what she had done, she deserved to hate herself, to hate them for not having the same response as she did. Animusereptur had told her what a dirty girl she was, that all of her friends cringed from his touch, and that she was the only one he could get a response out of. Something snapped deep within her and Amara felt the floodgates crumble.

Amara tore off the blankets and ran from the medical room, ignoring the sudden cries of her name. She ran through the mansion, flung open her bedroom door and then slammed it with enough force that it rattled her teeth.

She cried tears of bitter self disgust, shredding her clothes from off her repulsive and treacherous body. She caught sight of herself naked in her full length mirror and stood staring for a long moment. There she was in all of her naked disgusting glory, and she couldn't stand it.

Amara balled her hand and slammed it into the glass, feeling sick satisfaction as it exploded from under her hit. The reflection of herself crumbled with the fallen glass and a sudden sensation shoot from her hand.

Amara felt the blood running down her fingers and watched it drip onto the pieces of glass that were laying broken at her feet. This pain felt good. It felt so right. It was sweet relief that poured from her self disgust. Amara timidly picked up a piece of glass, a small part of her mind screaming at her that this was wrong, so wrong. But it had been wrong for her body to enjoy her molestation, hadn't it? And she needed to punish her body, right? Amara closed her hand around the piece of jagged glass, gasping as the sharp edges broke through the skin. She had let her body betray her and enjoy the enemy's touches, had even been pleasured by them. So now, by her own hand, she would force her body to feel pain instead, to bleed out and repent for her sins.

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Kitty laid still as she awoke suddenly in Kurt's bed, the slamming of a door jarring her to awareness. She selfishly ignored her concern for the others and snuggled closer to Kurt.

She smiled as se remembered his earlier confession of love. But had it been just for her comfort? Kitty turned to look at his sleeping face, feeling his tail wind more tightly around her waist and made her decision. He had meant it, she knew that he had. Why he loved her, she had no idea. Especially now when she was dirty and revolting. And weak, so very weak. She had clung to him like a child ever since they had gotten back, pushing all of her pain off on him with no regard to how he felt.

Kitty bit her lip in shame. She wouldn't drag Kurt down with her, through all this darkness and pain and suffering. No, she would heal herself, prove to him that she was strong and capable. Or perhaps she needed to prove it to herself? Kitty wasn't sure which one it was. Nor did she really care, she just knew that this was a healing journey that she needed to complete on her own.

Kitty searched for a way to force herself through this pain. The addiction that she thought she had overcome over two years ago called to her and Kitty absently ran her tongue over her two fake molars in the back of her mouth. The sickness that had consumed her when she 13 was suddenly looking very attractive, offering her comfort and control. Starting again wouldn't hurt. It would help her cope with everything, and then when it was all better again, she could stop. She had already proven that she could stop, she had done so two years ago.

Kitty cringed in memory of how bad it had gotten, of how bad _she_ had gotten, but pushed those thoughts out of her mind. If it could help her through this, then she would do it. She turned back to Kurt and kissed his cheek, swearing that this time around no one would find out and she would stop before it got to bad. She just needed it for a little while and then she could push it back away from her and start her relationship with the wonderful man with whom she was curled up next to now.

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Thank you for reading :) It was extremely difficult to write the Amara scene, but I felt it was important to show that specific consequence of sexual abuse as well. Many people will have guilt and shame after being abused because their bodies responded to the abuse, though it is not their fault. The human body will respond to sexual stimulation even under forced circumstances. But the abused person will blame themselves and feel as though they deserved or asked for the abuse, leading to self hate and repulsion. Amara is working out this self hate through more abuse, though this time inflicting it on herself. I choose the lyrics at the beginning of the chapter from a song called "How to Fix Everything" by Bayside. I felt that while that is a rather grim song, it conveys how Amara is feeling.

Any guesses on what Kitty's sickness and addiction is? I gave a small hint as to what it is ;)

author's note:

1: I love you my angel.

So what did everyone think? Too graphic? Not emotional enough? Let me know :)


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